When most people think of intellectual property, they think of patents, trademarks and copyrights. They think of registrations, lawsuits, licenses. These concepts are not wrong, but they treat each company as a commodity as opposed to as the unique businesses they are.

The types of intellectual property that matter most depend on the type of business. Companies in the manufacturing space really value patents. Companies in the creative space value copyrights. CPG companies value trademarks. At least these are the primary intellectual property concerns for these companies.

The reality is that all companies could value any type of intellectual property, but the mix of the prioritization is what matters.

Also, intellectual property is more than patents, trademarks and copyrights. A list of intellectual property items that a company may value also includes:
– fictional name filings, such as registered “doing business as” (DBA) names;
– internet domain names;
– Social media handles and commonly used hashtags;
– other source identifiers, such as vanity telephone numbers or addresses;
– software and databases;
– mask works (semi-conductor chip products);
– European Community designs;
– trade secrets and proprietary know-how, technology or processes; and
– rights of publicity, such as the right to use celebrities’ names and likenesses.

All that is intellectual property? Yes.