"Given the present day scenario where the world seems to be living a dual phased physical and digital life the companies have started to assimilate the value of the IP more than ever before and the IP is now a part of al

Meaning of IP Audit: An intellectual property (IP) audit is a tool for identifying a business's potential IP assets. Ideally an audit should be carried out by professional IP auditors, but often a preliminary audit can be done in-house, within a company. Benefits of IP audit: Through an IP audit you can make an inventory of your potential IP assets. This helps you to: Uncover unused or under-utilized assets Determine ownership of these assets Identify any related threats, i.e. IP infringement from your side or by others. Carrying out an IP audit can add value to the following: Cost reduction efforts - A well-managed list of IP assets can help you identify obsolete assets. Decisions can then be taken to stop paying maintenance costs for obsolete assets, resulting in significant cost reductions. Licensing - An IP audit is vital to know which IP assets are core to your business and which are not. Licensing decisions can then be made accordingly. For example, you may decide to license a non-core IP asset in order to create an additional revenue stream. Mergers and acquisitions - IP assets will play an important role in a third party deciding whether to merge with or acquire your business. Anti-infringement actions - Knowing the value of your IP assets makes it easier to take decisions on whether it is cost-effective to take action against infringement and in what way this could be done.