Profiting from intellectual capital

Intellectual capital (IC) is a significant resource for many companies. This paper explains what IC is, the benefits IC can generate, how a firm can utilize those benefits, the different roles a portfolio of IC assets can play, how firms can extract value from these portfolios, and the risks to a company that does not manage its intellectual property portfolio. The paper describes the steps for extracting value and outlines several ways to manage the firm’s IC assets. It discusses how a firm determines the three major elements of context and different procedures firms may opt to follow internally to realize their intellectual value. This paper also describes the ICM Gathering Group, the group of companies that have collectively created the knowledge the paper conveys. The paper explains how the Gathering has defined intellectual capital and how its member companies use their knowledge to the benefit of their respective organizations.