Five to 10 years ago, the strategic management of codified intellectual property rights — that is, patents, trademarks, copyrights and designs — was still a relatively exotic topic. More recently, the subject has received considerable attention in the business literature. Empirically speaking, however, we still know very little about the importance companies place on IP as a component of business and corporate strategy. Although business-unit managers surely find frameworks that align business strategy with IP1 helpful, and though top corporate executives are inspired by anecdotal evidence of selected colleagues’ commitment to patents2, these executives also need more data on several important topics relating IP to company strategy.3

To properly assess their competitive situation, these decision makers must first know:

• What does the competitive landscape with respect to IP rights look like? In addition to responsibly implementing IP strategy, managers should know:
• What are proven, successful strategies for using intellectual property at the corporate and business-unit level? What is the role of the executive committee and the board in IP strategy?
• What organizational structures support IP-related strategies the most? What pitfalls need to be avoided?
• How do successful organizations manage the “dos and don’ts” of working with intellectual property, both at the business-unit and the corporate level?

To gain insights into these questions, my research team and I analyzed original questionnaire data from a comprehensive survey of senior IP executives at 34 major industrial corporations, among them industry leaders (see “About the Research,” p. 41). These survey data reveal the substantial importance that senior IP managers attribute to top management’s direct engagement in IP-related strategic decision making. In addition, to supplement the survey data, I conducted in-depth interviews with leaders from two of the companies surveyed: Lars Rebien Sørensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk A/S, a healthcare company with a specialty in diabetes care based near Copenhagen, Denmark; and Dr. Gottlieb Keller, a member of the corporate executive committee and secretary to the board of directors of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., a global healthcare company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. The interviews provide illustrations of how corporate leaders actually engage with issues surrounding IP strategy (see “The Role of Corporate Leaders in IP Strategy,” p. 38).

IP-Related Strategy

What are the links between a company’s strategy and intellectual property rights? As with many other strategic issues, the strategic management of intellectual property spans different domains along an organization’s internal value