1. The Importance of Intellectual Property (IP)
In today's knowledge economy, intellectual property has become increasingly significant to Singapore-based companies operating across a wide variety of industries, from food & beverage to real estate. Intangible assets such as brands, industrial designs, formulae, technologies, customer databases, exist within every company and can play a bigger role in generating and sustaining the financial performance of businesses.

2. What is IP?
IP are creations of the mind that are protected by law to facilitate commerce. They subsist in the form of copyrights, trademarks, registered designs, patents, plant varieties protection, layout-designs of integrated circuits, geographical indications, trade secrets and confidential information.

3. Business Applications of IP
Many top companies have a common feature - they share a high level of intangible assets. From IBM to Dell, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) to Coca Cola to McDonald's, these corporations have strategically used IP to capture market share and shareholder value. 

IBM, which received more US patents than any other company in the world for 15 consecutive years, generates more than US$1 billion revenue annually through technology licensing. Meanwhile, P&G's "Connect + Develop" open innovation concept, which cross-licenses and co-develops products using externally and internally developed IP, has created or influenced at least 42% of their new products in the recent years.

Strategic use of IP will enable growing companies to:

• align their IP strategy to business strategy
• protect their market share
• exploit new revenue streams to create competitive advantage
• build up a robust IP management infrastructure in ensuring adequate and effective protection in different markets and industries
• leverage new/ re-bundled IPs for enhanced service offerings