An idea, by definition, exists primarily in one's mind, where it remains somewhat secure, but not terribly helpful so long as nobody else knows. To provide (industrial) price from that concept it must be expressed, and therein, typically lies the starting points for many potential issues and challenges for the originators - developers of that idea.
Basically, protecting ownership rights to the product of one's mind represents a contract of kinds between society, the govt., and also the individual(s) who created/developed the idea.
But, the risks (threats, vulnerabilities) to concepts (information assets) these days, e.g., compromise, theft, misappropriation, infringement, counterfeiting, etc., are uneven, amendment rapidly, and, once they occur, can instantaneously:
. stifle momentum for any development and/or (economic)
commercialization of the idea
. undermine projected transactions, investments, strategic (business) plans, or
competitive positioning, and
. erode (evaporate) the concepts' price and projected (future) use, profitability, or
anticipated competitive advantages.
In the pre-Net era, when company's experienced compromises/losses to their proprietary-sensitive info, and/or trade secrets, etc., a common strategy/follow was to strive to contain (compartmentalize) the damages and/or extent of the loss, typically in a very business continuity/contingency designing context. Nowadays, but, while such ways could be viable in limited circumstances, they seldom replicate the fact of the 'nanosecond speed' in that valuable info assets can be acquired and disseminated globally to an ever growing array of adversaries, e.g., infringers, competitors, counterfeiters, etc. And, once the asset has been successfully compromised, reliance on containment, in the conventional sense, is seldom a viable option.
Elevating (exacerbating) the probability that a company's proprietary recognize how, etc., can be compromised is the widespread availability of ultra-sophisticated and predatorial data mining, scanning, and analysis (competitor intelligence) tools (software programs) which will quickly discern and extract substantive benefits embedded in a very company's information assets and ultimately distribute same to a growing labyrinth of skilled and highly organized information brokers and state and company sponsored economic-competitive adversaries globally. This makes an organization's proprietary data assets at risk (vulnerable) 24/7, and at increasingly earlier stages of (their) development and without regard for conventional IP protections.
Therefore, whereas standard intellectual property enforcement mechanisms (i.e., patents, emblems, copyrights) remain a abundant nuanced and country centric requisite for conveying ownership and providing legal standing to handle potential disputes and challenges, the reality is that they, significantly patents, are reactive, that is, they need consistent self-policing and monitoring by the owner/holder to be even reasonably effective.
Equally important, the assumed deterrent effects of intellectual property (e.g., filing - issuance of a patent, as an example, can actually inhibit others from stealing, infringing, counterfeiting, and/or misappropriating) are (a.) conceptually and practically oversold, and (b.) readily/simply outpaced, circumvented, and completely disregarded by a growing international cadre of 'legacy free' players and well organized data brokers, infringers, and counterfeiters.
Legacy free players, as characterized by Thomas Friedman (The World Is Flat) are people - organizations (globally) who generally have, for a variety of reasons, very little or no cultural - national legacy for respecting personal (tangible) property rights, coupled with intellectual property rights. So, legacy free players, might well unabashedly engage in theft, misappropriation, and industrial (economic) espionage to acquire others' ideas, IP, and proprietary recognize a way to advance their position (economically, competitively) and while not incurring the upfront (tremendous) prices associated with 'idea development' (R&D).
Arguably then, in today's increasingly predatorial, aggressive, and 'winner take all' world business (transaction) surroundings, standard sorts of intellectual property are rapidly changing into less relevant, maybe even obsolete, as (a.) the first 'tool' to safeguard an organization's most valuable assets, (b.) ensure the rightful owner receives the economic - competitive advantage benefits from the onerous earned and expensive recognize how they need developed, or (c.) guarantee management, use, ownership, and price of their intangible assets and intellectual property that are in play - half of a transaction.
That's, in several transactions (in that a corporation's IP and intangible assets are in play - part of a deal) one will assume today, all, or a vital portion of these assets' value and purposeful-industrial life cycle can be significantly abbreviated, if not lost altogether (irretrievable).
Unfortunately, the new business reality is that standard intellectual property enforcements manufacture very little profit to an organization, alternative than providing (legal) standing for dispute resolution and/or bringing litigation when challenges arise, which do with growing frequency and consistency. That's to not imply typical IP protections ought to not be used. However, any assumption that the issuance of a patent, standing alone, will be sufficient to absolutely deter (inhibit) infringement, product piracy, misappropriation, or theft and allow the rightful owner/holder to sustain unencumbered, unchallenged management, use, price, and possession rights for the 20 years, is neither a reputable, viable, or prudent course of action.
So, it's imperative these days that company call manufacturers (holders, homeowners of IP and intangible assets, proprietary apprehend how, trade secrets, etc.) practice consistent and effective stewardship, oversight, and management of these assets which includes (a.) monitoring their status, stability, fragility, and sustainability, so that (b.) ownership - IP rights, when necessary, can be aggressively pursued in a timely (real time) manner.
Even in light of the economic truth - business reality that 65+% of the worth, sources of revenue, and future wealth creation (sustainability) for many company's lie in - are directly linked to intangible assets and IP a important proportion of company's intangible assets go unrecognized and undervalued. This is especially true when an organization's know how (intellectual capital) has been literally embedded in its merchandise, services, and processes over the course of many years, a lot of sort of a 'company culture' that usually goes unnoticed and under-appreciated insofar how it contributes to quality, consistency, and sustainability.
Ultimately, the likelihood (chance) that a company can expertise a compromise, breach, or loss to their IP, intangibles, and/or proprietary competitive benefits and apprehend how should not be characterised as just representing another 'risk of doing business'. Rather, in the present world business atmosphere, its more closely resembling an inevitability, which, if dismissed or left unchecked by company decision makers, c-suites, boards, and D&O's, will constitute not only a breach of fiduciary responsibility, but bring about vital and unrecoverable losses.
Mr. Moberly has conducted varied national displays, seminars, and coaching for business organizations and skilled associations on a vary of issues connected to serving to firms sustain control, use, ownership, and worth of their intellectual property, intangible assets, proprietary information and competitive advantages.
Author Resource:
Adam has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Data Protection - Don't Treat Your Company's Intellectual Property As Renewable Resources
You can also check out his latest website about
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