Michael D. Moberly is a Business Intangible Asset Strategist, Risk Mitigator, and Founder – Principal of kpstrat and ‘Business Intangible Asset Blog
It’s increasingly unlikely that a R&D – IP reliant business can invent – innovate faster than its proprietary information – data can be compromised, ala various forms, contexts, and applications of intellectual, structural, and relationship capital (intangible assets).
The odds for achieving successful – challenge free launches wherein ‘mission essential’ proprietary intangible assets remain wholly intact and unchallenged are less favorable today.
These are ‘risk questions – issues’ I encourage every entrepreneur, inventor, innovator, early-stage business leader, management team, board, and investor assume a (fiduciary) obligation to consider, monitor, and secure reasonable assurance, in advance, e.g.,
- the odds that lucrative – competitive strategic planning content, processes, knowhow, pricing, and proprietary R&D, are
- vulnerable to probable compromise and/or challenge which, once such risks materialize, can rapidly
- stifle – undermine (business) progress, momentum, investment, valuation, monetization, and commercialization opportunities, rendering either substantially less favorable
As readers of this Blog recognize, entities (businesses) which prudently designate and endeavor to sustain particular-information, data, strategy, planning, and initiative proprietary and ‘mission essential’ for the relevant durations, will likely be…
- substantially better positioned to lucratively – competitively bring and scale an innovative product – service to the public marketplace.
The above represent worthy objectives to pursue and achieve, not merely consider.
My counsel is that doing so with relevant practices focused on safeguarding – sustaining the proprietary status of business essential forms-contexts-applications of intellectual, structural, and relationship capital + issued intellectual property ala business things intangible is increasingly necessary and essential because either may – is likely to be…
- perused, considered, targeted and perhaps pursued in various ways for possible compromise, misappropriation, infringement, and/or
- challenged to impede momentum or undermine asset valuation, competitive advantage, and revenue generation capability-capacity.
My (national – international) experiences + research into these and related business matters, permit me to knowledgeably encourage parties to consider + factor…
- the odds for achieving successful – challenge free launches wherein ‘mission essential’ proprietary intangible assets remain wholly intact and unchallenged, is embedded with asymmetric risks, many of which can be avoided and/or mitigated in advance for the ‘forward lookers’.
That is, there is ever-expanding array of variously sophisticated and sponsored events, circumstances, and actions by ‘bad actors’ ala economic – competitive advantage – ideological adversaries to affect business vulnerability – probability – criticality to arrays of risk introduced @ their will.
An initial national study to focus exclusively on these issues affecting U.S. businesses, was a collaborative effort of (a.) ONCIX (The Office of National Counterintelligence Executive), and (b.) the American Society for Industrial Security – International represented by four subject matter experts – principal investigators in which I was one.
The findings of this undertaking were titled ‘Trends In Proprietary Information Loss Survey’ and were included in ONCIX’s ‘Annual Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage’.
Subsequently, I researched – authored ‘Safeguarding Intangible Assets’ (Elsevier).
The aforementioned (national) study, and others subsequently, find unequivocal evidence that U.S. businesses, across sectors, irrespective of size, stage, location, products, or services are consistently – repeatedly – asymmetrically targeted and at risk, to compromise of their…
- proprietary economic-competitive advantage information-data, IP, strategies, ‘mission essential’ technologies, expertise, knowhow, and processes-procedures, etc., which they depend – rely, primarily,
- various forms – contexts – applications of intellectual, structural, and relationship capital (bedrock intangible assets),
- which among other things, provide insight to a legitimate business’s plans, intentions, and capabilities, and,
- in most instances, can be immediately applied to benefit the buyers- recipients of said information absent the time and costs of developing same independently and legally.
Business leaders, et al, are (fiduciarily) obliged to recognize the above and distinguish their business proprietarily developed information, processes, procedures, knowhow, etc., relative to its’…
- useability, marketability, commercialize-ability, replicability, and sale-scale-ability globally 24/7/365 @ keystroke speed, @ the discretion and timing of others.
For any entrepreneur, inventor, et al, to dispute same using pretentious characterizations that ‘no one would want or could use that’ is respectfully mis-informed.
The ‘Business Intangible Asset Blog’ is experientially-researched, written, and produced by Michael D. Moberly, to provide practical insights, and sometimes alternative perspectives to readers, ala business leaders, management teams, boards, stakeholders, and investors, etc., to aid in identifying, distinguishing, assessing, valuing, safeguarding, and lucratively – competitively developing – applying their ‘mission essential’ intangible assets.
Readers are-encouraged to review and comment on this, and other posts.
