Industry Insights

Losing the Edge – How poor IP management is quietly crippling businesses

By Shalaka Kulkarni

Published on July 18, 2025

In the race to innovate, most businesses are sprinting hard. But what if the finish line is about protecting what you build?

Every day, companies generate value through ideas. But too many of them leave those ideas unguarded. Patents lapse. Trade secrets leak. Employee know-how walks out the door. And quietly, almost invisibly, businesses do start to lose their edge.

How IP fuels competitive advantage

In fast-growth sectors like fintech, AI, and biotech, intellectual property (IP) is the backbone of competitive advantage. Yet, a staggering number of early and mid-stage companies treat it like paperwork. In reality, IP is an asset class. Just like capital or talent, it must be tracked, managed, and actively leveraged.

According to WIPO, intangible assets account for over 90% of the value of S&P 500 companies. That includes patents, trademarks, data, software, and proprietary methods. And yet, fewer than 30% of SMEs have a formal IP strategy.

That’s risky and expensive.

Signs you’re leaking IP value:

• Product features get cloned fast. Competitors mimic your innovation because your protection is weak or nonexistent.
  
• You lose key talent and with them, your trade secrets. Poor knowledge capture means institutional wisdom leaves with the person.
  
• You’re raising funds, but your IP hygiene is a red flag. Investors today ask tough questions: Who owns the codebase? Is your brand defensible? Are you licensing someone else’s patented tech unknowingly?
  
• Cross-border expansion becomes a minefield. What worked in Australia may be infringing in the EU or useless in China without proper filing.
  
• You can’t value what you don’t audit. If your IP isn’t tracked, it’s not part of your balance sheet narrative.
  

The myth of “We’ll fix It later”

Startups often deprioritise IP, assuming they’ll “get to it when we grow.” But that’s like leaving the front door open and installing locks once you’ve been robbed.

By the time you realise what’s been lost (ideas, customers, valuation) it’s already too late.

Worse, the damage is often invisible until it hits the bottom line.

What strategic IP management looks like

Forward-thinking companies treat IP as a growth enabler, rathan than a legal formality. Here’s what they do differently:

• Early audits of code, content, and creative assets: To ensure ownership and freedom to operate.
  
• Clear IP clauses in all employment and vendor contracts: So that creation = ownership.
  
• Automated IP tracking systems: Think dashboards that alert you when a trademark is expiring or a patent filing needs action.
  
• Competitive IP landscaping: Understand where white space exists and where you might be at risk of infringement.
  
• Geographical filing strategies: Based on expansion plans, not just current operations.
  
• Regular valuation of IP assets: Especially during funding, M&A, or partnership discussions.
  

Good IP management is about protecting your unfair advantage. It’s how Amazon built a moat around 1-click shopping. How Netflix protected its recommendation engine. How countless smaller players avoid death by duplication.

And in a world that rewards originality but punishes naivety, managing your IP is existential.

Always remember: Your IP is your intention to lead.

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