Strategic Management of Intellectual Property

By one informed estimate from the late 1990s, three-quarters of the Fortune 100's total market capitalization was represented by intangible assets, such as patents, copyrights and trademarks. In this environment, cautions the author, IP management cannot be left to technology managers or corpor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMIT Sloan management review Vol. 45; no. 3; p. 35
Main Author Reitzig, Markus
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 01.03.2004
Subjects
Competition
Competitive advantage
Generic products
Incumbency
Intangible assets
Intellectual property
Market positioning
Pharmaceutical industry
Strategic management
Trademarks
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Summary:By one informed estimate from the late 1990s, three-quarters of the Fortune 100's total market capitalization was represented by intangible assets, such as patents, copyrights and trademarks. In this environment, cautions the author, IP management cannot be left to technology managers or corporate legal staff alone - it must be a matter of concern for functional and business-unit leaders as well as a corporation's most senior officer. To realize the full value of their companies' intellectual property, top executives must seek answers to the following questions: How can the company use intellectual property rights to gain and sustain competitive advantage? How do IP rights affect the industry's structure? What options do IP rights offer vis-a-vis competitors? How can IP rights grant incumbency advantage and establish barriers to entry? How can IP rights help the company gain vertical power along the value chain? What organizational design accommodates an IP strategy most effectively? The author explores each question, drawing on such company examples as Nokia, Motorola, Novo Nordisk and Leo Pharma, in the process helping lead intellectual property rights out of their shadowy existence in patent and legal departments. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1532-9194