CII helps insurers mitigate intellectual property risks

The Chartered Insurance Institute has produced good practice guidance to help insurers establish and manage their customers’ intellectual property rights.

The guide recommends insurers:

Check if the intellectual property is registered and valued

Documentation establishing the date of creation, the value of intellectual property and how that relates to the value of the individual organisation can assist with disputes.

Perform a risk assessment of the intellectual property portfolio

A risk assessment will help identify, analyse and respond to any risks affecting the lifecycle of registered pieces of intellectual property.

It will help identify the potential of an infringement, how it will impact the owner and ways to action it.

Check wording of ownership and licensing agreements

Intellectual property can be “licensed-out” to another company in return for a fee or “licensed-in” if another company’s intellectual property is used to develop someone else’s business or products.

Check available methods to resolve dispute

The IPO Mediation Service mediates matters relating to the full range of intellectual property (patents, trademarks, designs, copyright, trade secrets and related commercial matters).

The advantages of using this service include a high success rate of resolution, confidentiality, plus quicker and cheaper resolutions than lengthy and costly litigation proceedings.

Matthew Connell, director of policy and public affairs of the Chartered Insurance Institute, said: “Given the central role that intellectual property plays in our economy, it is not surprising that organisations now invest more in intangible assets than they do in tangible assets.

“According to Office for National Statistics estimates, investment in intangible assets in 2018 stood at £169bn, £18bn more than tangible assets. It is inconceivable that any modern approach to risk management can ignore intellectual property and building trust with corporate and SME clients increasingly means understanding how these assets work.

“Whether mitigating these risks through insurance or other strategies, it is essential for risk professionals to be able to advise organisations on how to build and protect intellectual property.”

To read the guide CLICK HERE

Authored by the Chartered Insurance Institute