From Concept to Wall Street: A Complete Guide to Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital

Chapter 5. Intangible Capital and Intellectual Property

INTRODUCTION—TYPES OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Intellectual property has in recent years become one of the most important assets of companies in general, and is often the most valuable asset of companies in their early stage. The importance of protecting a startup's intellectual property and making the most use of it is therefore obvious.

A company's intellectual property derives from several sources, such as:

• Technology developed in the company or acquired by it, which may increase the company's revenues, save them costs, or confer other advantages on them.

• Unique and confidential information about customers or other contacts which could be valuable to other companies in order to increase their ...