IP Resources: Intellectual Property

In law, particularly in common law jurisdictions, intellectual property or IP refers to a legal entitlement which sometimes attaches to the expressed form of an idea, or to some other intangible subject matter. In general terms this legal entitlement sometimes enables its holder to exercise exclusive control over the use of the IP. The term intellectual property reflects the idea that the subject matter of IP is the product of the mind or the intellect, and that once established, such entitlements are generally treated as equivalent to tangible property, and may be enforced as such by the courts.

Little argument over intellectual property (IP) would occur if it did not have a value for the owner. The principle of valuing IP is to determine the future income associated with its ownership. Determination of future income requires estimating the income due to the IP in each of all future years over its life; i.e., the amount sold and the net income per unit after routine sales costs are deducted. If the IP is used internally, then the savings due to owning it can be similarly estimated

Intellectual property organizations are international intergovernmental organizations that involve cooperation in the area of copyrights, trademarks and patents.

Whether you have tried to market your invention, art, craft, book or other talent in the past and failed or whether you have never tried beyond nurturing your ideas in your mind, please remember this--if you deeply believe in your talent, and if you have a vision of greatness for your ideas, one day you will be able to turn your dreams into reality.

Most companies that are worthy of raising venture capital have proprietary Intellectual Property (IP). In fact, the quality of the IP and the management team are often the two most important aspects of a venture capitalist’s investment decision. The challenge that many ventures face, however, is that most investors will not sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and NDAs are critical to maintaining the proprietary nature of the IP.

Whether you have tried to sell your ideas in the past and failed or whether you have never tried beyond nurturing your ideas in your mind, please remember this--if you deeply believe in your ideas and if you have a vision of greatness for your ideas, one day, you will be able to turn your dreams into reality.