In today’s knowledge economy, it has been estimated that over 80% of any company’s value lies in its intangible assets, namely its Intellectual Property and its Intellectual Assets.
Intellectual Property is the name given to the output of innovation and creativity. Intellectual Property Rights is the name given to the legal rights granted to such.
"Intellectual Assets" is a wider term than Intellectual Property in that it extends to all knowledge that has market value. Examples of Intellectual Assets are staff expertise, market intelligence, strategic contracts and trade secrets. Knowing how to do something is not, in itself, an Intellectual Asset – that knowledge only becomes an asset if it has some form of commercial value or market demand. However, if you do not even know what Intellectual Property and Intellectual Assets are owned by your business, then how can you exploit them?
