Preparing an IP Asset Inventory
Preparing an inventory of your company’s intellectual property assets is a useful first step when considering exploiting your IP as a means to alleviate imminent financial pressures.
An IP asset inventory will help you recognise what IP exists in your business, what you may soon have and what IP assets are currently being under-utilised.
Beyond the obvious registrable IP such as patents and trade marks, it is likely that you have and rely on a range of informal IP assets, from trade secrets to critical databases. To help you identify the full extent of your company’s IP portfolio, the below checklist will help you categorise elements of your daily operational business into 10 different IP asset classes.
Informal IP
| Key Organisational Knowledge | |
| Documented Internal Processes | Product/Service Manuals |
| Recipes | Standard Operating Procedures |
| Design Drawings | Brand Guidelines |
| Staff Training Programmes | Technical Specifications |
| ISO Accreditation Documentation | |
| Trade Secrets | |
| Recipes/Formulas | Algorithms |
| Manufacturing Methods | Customer List |
| Pricing Matrices | Know-how database |
| Critical Partners & Suppliers | |
| Unique relationship relative to the market | Formal agreement with exclusive clause |
| R&D and Innovation | |
| Internal Research Processes | Continuous Improvement Processes |
| Business Model Development | New Product/Service Development Processes |
| Strategy & Market Intelligence | |
| Competitor Analysis Documentation | Business Plans |
| Product/Service Market Analysis | Product Development Strategy |
| Know-how | |
| Key Staff | Knowledge Management Processes |
| Critical Business Processes | |
| Bible of Solutions | Internal Process Wiki’s |
| Critical Customer Relationships | |
| Customer Surveys | Single Customer Generating x%+ of revenue |
| B2B Licence Agreements | Customer Database/Lists |
| Customer Loyalty Scheme |
Formal IP
| Copyright | |
| Software Code | Marketing Materials |
| Website Content | Customer Catalogues |
| In-store Music | Video-graphic Content |
| Licence Agreements (in or out) | Databases |
| Trade Marks | |
| Un/Registered Corporate Brand Name | Un/Registered Corporate Brand Logo |
| Un/Registered Trading Brand Name(s) | Un/Registered Trading Brand Logo(s) |
| Patents | |
| Granted Patents | Technology Filed for Patent Protection |
| Designs | |
| Registered Product Design | Unregistered Product Design |