The importance of auditing intellectual property

By Pilar Soruco, Orpan

Intangible assets are, like any other asset, items of value to a company. Those intangible assets that are protected ideas by intellectual property are important and relevant to the overall value of the company. For this reason, it is important to audit and value intellectual property assets of the company regularly.

Be it a trademark, an invention, an industrial design, a trade secret (know-how), ownership software or other forms of creations protected by intellectual property, having a complete inventory of the assets and an updated valuation thereof, grants the company the possibility of a broader vision of their own assets. This vision in turn, extends the possibilities of planning to continue adding value to intangible assets.

The intellectual property assets represent the value of the product or service. For example when a trademark is widely recognized, this recognition makes the product more valuable by simply wearing the trademark. This translates into higher revenues for the company, and allows the holder of the asset to be placed in a position of advantage in the marketplace.

For these reasons, the legal protection of intellectual property is essential in the effort to add value to the company and for positioning within the market. It is therefore much more of a priority than a simple formal priority such as obtaining permits or tax formalities. Protecting intellectual property is to protect the value of the company.