Report reveals SMEs need to do more to protect intellectual property

01/04/2011

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to do more to protect and exploit their business innovations, according to research from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

In its report, Intellectual Property Awareness Survey of Business, the IPO discovered that only 15 per cent of SMEs have ever sought to safeguard their ideas.

On top of this, only 11 per cent of small firms overall have plans in place to deal with intellectual property rights, compared to 43 per cent of large companies, meaning SMEs risk losing out on income from their creativity.

Baroness Wilcox, the intellectual property minister, said: "Innovation is the backbone of our economy, and it's encouraging that many businesses know the importance of protecting and exploiting their ideas. However it's clear that many smaller companies aren’t aware of how to make the most of their intellectual property."

However, John Mitchell, chairman of the SME Innovation Alliance, told the Daily Telegraph that the UK enforcement system fails SMEs in particular, so it is not surprising that many do not seek advice on intellectual property.

McAfee, the security technology company, discovered in its Underground Economies: Intellectual Capital and Sensitive Corporate Data Now the Latest Cybercrime Currency, report that companies and SMEs are being targeted for their sensitive data.

Simon Hunt, vice president and chief technology officer, endpoint security at McAfee, said: "Cybercriminals have shifted their focus from physical assets to data driven properties, such as trade secrets or product planning documents."

The firm is warning SMEs and business owners to better protect themselves from these types of attack, which are on the increase.

Following the IPO's, report Baroness Wilcox announced that the government would provide a range of services to help SMEs identify and benefit from their designs.

These include a free online intellectual property health check tool, workshops, regional awareness seminars and master classes in conjunction with Coventry University and the British Library.

This new report involved over 20,000 businesses of all sizes in the UK from across all industry sectors.

Posted by Dan Morris