Benefits of IP to your Business
IP confers legal ownership. With ownership comes control. With control comes opportunity.
By registering a patent, trade mark, design or using copyright or confidential know-how it is possible to own your ideas. Then you can control who can make, use or sell your invention or use your trade mark(s), logo(s) and designs as you have the right to prevent others from doing so. Without IP your ideas are free to be used by others.
Leveraging IP is a great way to monetise ideas. You can sell your rights outright, license them or hold on to them to exploit yourself. More importantly you can do a mix of things by licensing for different activities or jurisdictions. For example most benefit may come by using IP to maintain exclusivity in a home market but licensing others to use your IP in other places.
Importantly there is a specific Intangible Assets tax credit that can reduce your tax bill (to 2.5%). There is also an associated R & D tax credit (25% rebate on qualifying expenditure).
IP can add value as:
- A mechanism to hold off competitors,
- An asset on a balance sheet
- A source of licensing income,
- A more favourable tax position
- Or some combination of those.
IP is a really effective way of leveraging your ideas without fear of simply giving them away.
Think IP think added value. Think IP think Tomkins.
