Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nmvwc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-25T07:41:24.155Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - Placing a Financial Value on Intellectual Property Assets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Michael A. Gollin
Affiliation:
Venable LLP, Washington DC
Get access

Summary

Financial valuation of IP assets is crucial in many circumstances, such as managing an IP portfolio, acquiring IP rights, and calculating prospective damages in an enforcement lawsuit. This chapter presents some threshold questions – the purpose for a valuation, the owner of the assets, and the type of assets – which help when selecting the valuation approach to use. There are four basic approaches, each with strengths and weaknesses in any given situation. First, the cost approach (sunk cost or replacement cost) is perhaps the simplest – how much money did the asset cost to produce, or how much would it cost to replace it. However, cost has little relevance in setting a market value. Second, the income approach focuses on net present value or discounted cash value, and applies only to assets with actual or predictable revenue streams, such as a running royalty. Third, fair market value is determined by reference to comparable assets. Finally, there are hybrid methods, such as rules of thumb for royalty percentages, and approaches for special valuation situations such as converting IP assets into securities. Several techniques can be combined to gain confidence about the value of an IP asset. The financial value of any bundle of IP rights is subject to much debate but ultimately most organizations care about the results, and so IP valuation is an important skill to master for individuals, organizations, and nations.

Type
Chapter
Information
Driving Innovation
Intellectual Property Strategies for a Dynamic World
, pp. 207 - 225
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×