CEOs and business owners can no longer treat IP strategy as a delegated and ignored administrative task. Multiplying examples of the importance and value of IP requires attention at the highest levels of the business enterprise. Recent studies report that IP accounts for 80% or more of the over all value of business enterprises.
In my practice, I find that many businesses have no inventory of the IP assets, no plan for protection and exploitation, no strategy - yet they invest heavily in the creation of strategic business plans, sale plans, financial audits, and the like. This oversight is akin to leaving your BMW parked on the street, in the rain, top down, keys in the ignition.
A popular domain name, as one example, can have substantial value on the open market, as illustrated by this report from the San Diego Business Journal, "Domain Name Purchased for $2.9 Million."
What is your company's inventory of domain names? Who is the registrant? When do they expire? If you run a business and don't know these answers, it's time to find out - and time to find out what else you don't know about your company's greatest asset.
