IP protection is significant in an economy disrupted by technology as it can be the difference between risk and reward for businesses. Patents, trademarks, copyrights and designs are all gaining increasing significance alongside a dramatic rise in other types of IP protection such as trade secrets and non-disclosure agreements. Managing IP effectively will ensure protection for your ideas while also offering the opportunity of monetizing them.
In a previous article, we discussed how IP strategy and what management can learn from the disruptors that are entering their markets. Our report highlights that it is critical for a successful IP strategy to involve the whole business. It should always be seen as more than just a 'legal' issue as it pervades multiple different departments including HR, marketing and research and development, even if it is not always obvious how.
A relative newcomer to IP, China's domestic market is now the fastest-growing in the world, outpacing the US and Europe in patent filings and rapidly improving its courts and enforcement. Yet despite flagging China as a key market, only 34% of our respondents' portfolios include filings made in China.
Businesses wanting to capitalise on innovation using IP strategies and avoid risk need to be considering the jurisdiction as an essential part of their plans. Chinese innovators like Huawei are challenging the US tech sector domination, while the country's huge investment in physics, life sciences, and AI makes it only a matter of time before it takes over almost all key technology fields.
