Companies around the world are failing to understand the value of their intellectual property (IP) and protect it effectively, according to a report by the insurers Marsh.
According to Marsh’s 2011 Intellectual Property Survey Report, three quarters of…
Companies around the world are failing to understand the value of their intellectual property (IP) and protect it effectively, according to a report by the insurers Marsh.
According to Marsh’s 2011 Intellectual Property Survey Report, three quarters of the companies that responded to questions were unable to quantify the proportion of their firm’s value that came from their intangible assets (also called “goodwill”).
The report also claimed that a majority of the firms that responded had not specifically included IP in their risk management programmes. Only 16% of respondents had bought insurance coverage for IP risks.
Fredrik Motzfeldt, Marsh’s leader for communication, media and technology in EMEA, said: “Intellectual property is often the critical asset for firms to protect. Our survey shows there is a real need for organisations to take a more proactive risk management approach to the protection of key assets.”
The value of a company’s intangible assets was also tackled at TelecomFinance’s conference in January.
In one seminar, Ernst & Young’s global telecommunications leader Nicolas Klapisz put forward the argument that a telco’s tangible assets (its infrastructure network, for example) and net working capital comprised just 9% of its EV.
By contrast, he suggested that 61% of the EV came from “goodwill”. This category contained a wide range of factors of value, including customer service capability, presence in markets, access to capital markets and relationships with regulators.
