External growth through mergers and acquisitions involves a high degree of risk even under most favourable business conditions. It demands solid planning and implementation efforts. Companies involved in M&A transactions must deal with a wide range of aspects prior to signing. One of the most critical involves the valuation and transfer of tangible and intangible assets. This is particularly the case when the acquiring company is seeking postmerger inorganic growth. A number of stakeholder issues emerge in this context: Investors have to consider IP issues in their growth strategies and conduct appropriate due diligence reviews. In this paper, we explore the intellectual property perspective in mergers and acquisitions. We begin by defining intellectual property and introduce a holistic IP management approach that treats intellectual property as an integral component in the M&A process. The paper also explores the practical implementation of an effective IP management approach. It concludes with a discussion of the key aspects and issues related to IP management approach in an M&A transaction. In our contribution, we introduce the IP rights applicable in Germany. This will be of interest particularly for those companies that are interested in investing in Germany based companies and the DAX 30 group of companies sometimes referred to as Deutschland AG. This paper builds on previous work published in Mergers & Acquisitions Review (Farhadi et al, 2009).

Companies are increasingly looking to their intellectual property (patents, trademarks, formulas, copyrights, brand names, distributions systems, etc.) as a profit center. As they try to extract more value from their holdings, some of which have been left dormant for years, many are looking beyond their own core products to partnerships with outside industries. Now it its third edition, Intellectual Property: Licensing and Joint Venture Strategies provides the most up-to-date practical tools for evaluating the investment aspects of licensing and joint venture decisions, and discusses the legal, tax, and accounting practices and procedures related to such arrangements.

The Intellectual Property Deskbook is intended to serve as the business lawyer's starting point for issue identification, perspective, and resources in dealing with intellectual property issues and assets, whether in the context of structuring and consummating transactions or in the day-to-day counseling of clients. It is specifically designed to become the go-to reference for beginning the analysis, refreshing the memory, or seeking direction for in depth research on the wide range of IP-related issues.

Many companies that have become household names have avoided billions in taxes by 'parking' their valuable intellectual property (IP) assets in holding companies located in tax-favored jurisdictions. In the United States, for example, many domestic companies have moved their IP to tax-favored states such as Delaware or Nevada, while multinational companies have done the same by setting up foreign subsidiaries in Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. In this illuminating work, tax scholar Jeffrey A. Maine teams up with IP expert Xuan-Thao Nguyen to explain how the use of these IP holding companies has become economically unjustified and socially unacceptable, and how numerous calls for change have been made. This book should be read by anyone interested in how corporations - including Gore-Tex, Victoria's Secret, Sherwin-Williams, Toys-R-Us, Apple, Microsoft, and Uber - have avoided tax liability with IP holding companies and how different constituencies are working to stop them.

This book will be a useful resource for those studying or teaching the management of IP. . . a welcome addition on the reading list for all good IP management courses. Duncan Bucknell, Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice This book brings together innovative contributions on the management of intellectual property (IP) and intellectual property rights by an esteemed and multi-disciplinary group of economists, management scientists, accountants and lawyers. Offering a broad and enlightening picture of the measurement and management of IP, the contributors argue that the shift towards a knowledge-based economy has increased the importance of IP and more generally, intangible assets, as a focus for company decision-making behaviour. The book explores these intangible assets, which are driven by investments in R&D, marketing, education and training, management information systems and organizational structure. The inherent risk in the development of such assets born from the involvement of creativity and innovation is also discussed. The Management of Intellectual Property should prove of use to both students of management and managers in the field who have to make decisions with regard to investments in, and the protection of, IP and other intangible assets.

This book examines intellectual property (IP) as an important value driver for start-ups. Businesses of all sizes are inevitably confronted with intellectual property issues at some point, but start-ups and their collaborators face unique challenges and opportunities in IP management. Identifying, generating, and exploiting intellectual property can lead to sustainable competitive advantages and avoidance of risks. Many start-ups sense the complexity of IP management and therefore place their energy elsewhere. However, the clear conclusion to be drawn from this unique collection of contributions is that putting an IP management strategy in place is critical to the successful development of a business. Prof. Dr. Martin A. Bader and Prof. Dr. Sevim Süzeroğlu-Melchiors have years of experience as consultants, entrepreneurs, business owners, and researchers where they saw firsthand the need for a comprehensive yet practical resource for start-ups and their key stakeholders. This book explores different perspectives in dealing with IP from six different angles: the start-up’s view, the investor’s view, the corporation’s view, the university’s view, the global IP office’s view, and the advisor’s view. Each section consists of chapters written by leading experts from around the globe including Silicon Valley, Canada, Israel, Switzerland, Germany, Finland, France, Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Singapore, and South Africa. Contributors bring practical experience from a wide range of sectors, such as information and communication technology, software, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, industrial automation, internet of things, life sciences, pharma, crop science, biotech, medtech, mining, sustainability, climate tech, and even quantum technologies. This timely publication serves as a guidebook for entrepreneurs and other key stakeholders in the start-up ecosystem. It empowers founders to develop their own IP management strategy to mitigate risk, create and capture value, and lay the groundwork for sustainable growth. An essential reference for start-ups to achieve business excellence. “This edited book volume offers valuable insights, bringing together perspectives of key stakeholder groups from a wide variety of innovation ecosystems – an invaluable resource.” —Carsten Fink, Chief Economist, World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva “A timely book for those wanting a clear overview of the issues the different players encounter in the start-up ecosystem. A useful resource indeed. Congratulations to the editors and team.”—Audrey Yap, Managing Partner YUSARN AUDREY LLC, Past President LESI, Chairman Singapore Innovation & Productivity Institute, Singapore “A ‘must read’ for all innovators in the start-up world. It is truly a fantastic book and one I would recommend being bought and read (in full)!”—Laurence Freeman, Professor (Adjunct), CU Denver Business School, Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship, Denver, Colorado, United States/div