Michael D. Moberly March 26, 2009
Positioning a company’s intangible assets to maximize (extract as much) value (as possible) is an essential fiduciary responsibility, especially today as 65+% of most company’s value, sources of revenue, and future wealth creation (sustainability) lie in – are directly linked to intangible assets.
To effectively position a company’s intangible assets to maximize their (potential) value requires an understanding of the nuances of intangible assets coupled (aligned) with the skill sets to:
1. Examine (assess) pertinent (internal, external) operations – processes – functions of a company to identify where (valuable and perhaps proprietary) intangible assets exist…
2. Unravel (assess) the assets’ origins, originators, and development (over time)…
3. Determine/assess the assets’ role/contribution to the company, e.g., its overall value, revenue and competitive advantages produced, market position, reputation, image, goodwill…
4. Design and put in place (commensurate) best practices and continuity/contingency plans to ensure the assets’ control, use, ownership, and value is ‘monitorable’ and sustainable…
5. Bundle the assets (when – where feasible) as a foundation for maximizing – strengthening – sustaining their value for the duration of their respective (economic, functional, legal) life cycle relative to the following categories, e.g., those assets that…
Category A – have a clear value and can be monetized (converted in some manner) fairly rapidly through sale, licensing, bartering, collaborations, alliances, etc…
Category B – have a clear value and can possibly be monetized, but only if certain acts (things) occur first, e.g., a license agreement has a clear value, but before that value can be fully realized, it requires negotiations and multiple approvals…
Category C – are unlikely to bring any value (be monetizeable) for various reasons, e.g., the value of a database, for example, may not be ‘extractable’ due to privacy laws (HIPPA), etc…
Category D – have no apparent value other than to the existing owner and no value can be realized even by interaction with other assets, e.g., a celebrity’s personal appearances or endorsement contracts…
Category E – are unable to be separated from other tangible assets, and ownership interests (of the assets’) is doubtful or pose significant challenges, e.g., an individual’s fame associated with a particular product, etc…
(Categories adapted by Michael D. Moberly from the work of Weston Anson)
