4 Surprising Stats on the Importance of Intellectual Property

At LawBite we are always looking for better ways to understand which factors determine success for SMEs and start-ups. We recently (in June 2018) conducted a LawBite Business Investor Survey to gauge exactly what specialists in the assessment of a business’ viability look for when considering an investment opportunity. Intellectual property (IP) refers to the output of your creativity. The World Intellectual Property Forum (named WIPO) refers to intellectual property as ‘creations of the mind’. There are different types of intellectual property: copyrights, trademarks, patents and design rights. To our surprise, the discrepancy between the importance placed on IP by investors and the perceived lack of understanding of the subject means many businesses could be risking the future of their companies by not protecting key assets through professional business legal advice.

Key findings from our survey

  All respondents said that intellectual property (IP) is an important part of how they assess an investment opportunity 86% of our network of financial investors revealed they believe SMEs only have a little to some understanding about IP Professional legal advice is essential or very important in ensuring effective IP protection according to 86% of our investor network Only 14% of SMEs have a good understanding of what IP protection is, according to our investor network Looking ahead Our survey shows that not protecting the value of your ideas is a common oversight by business owners. As IP is quite difficult to see or touch it’s one area of a business where professional legal advice can be of great value to you. Are you surprised by these results? Is your Intellectual Property in safe hands? Why not take our Free Intellectual Property Checklist and see how you can protect your company’s assets today? In addition, we also have a range of Trademark products, specially designed to help you safeguard the future of your business. Call our friendly team on: 020 7148 1066 or submit an enquiry here to get free 15 minutes legal consultation today.