Articles

Look Inwards It may sound counterintuitive but the most efficient way to build an effective intellectual property (IP) portfolio is to first look inwards – look at your brands, trade secrets, patents, software, data & analytics, etc. Create an inventory of these existing key IP assets and focus on the IP that is critical to your business. If it is ...

We have seen a shift over the last twelve months in the type of intellectual property valuations being sought to support Creditor Voluntary Arrangements (‘CVAs’), principally in retail, casual dining, and leisure sectors.  In particular, reporting the forced liquidation value or ex-situ value of IP assets is not being seen as a credible alternative for many larger restructuring scenarios.  Instead, ...

In case you missed it, we were delighted to reveal the new, fresh face of Metis Partners. We are the same Metis Partners that has been providing unique intellectual property valuation services for almost 20 years, but with a new brand identity and new website.   We departed from our black and white logo, as intellectual property is no longer ...

5 Activities That Could Turn A Trademark Into A Valuable Brand When is a brand not a brand? When it’s just a trademark! We are often asked to value or sell a “brand” but when we perform our usual IP diligence we discover that only a trademark exists, sometimes registered but not always, and as a result the value is lower than ...

Why it matters We noticed that trade secret metadata was being discussed within the LinkedIn community recently. As it happens, this is something not unfamiliar to us and our IP100 entrants. In fact, we will be working with an IP100 company on the development and implementation of their trade secret policy shortly. Next steps In summary, the strategy for the ...

IP Drivers for a successful SPAC transaction With twenty years of experience, the IP experts at Metis Partners have seen good M&A diligence and bad M&A diligence. Recent SPAC transactions have brought this into sharp focus. Are you seeking a SPAC to acquire your company? Maybe you are a SPAC Sponsor looking for the right acquisition. How can both parties ...

Missing intellectual property opportunities Having worked on IP valuations to support a number of CVAs in the last 12 months, we’ve seen many poor examples of retail businesses which are rich in IP assets (brands, store formats, online IP collateral, product partnerships etc.) that are contributing to revenue generation, yet the IP assets are still not being fully exploited.  We ...

We all know the old maxim: “knowledge is power”. Here at Metis Partners, we utilise our expertise in the field of intellectual property strategy and monetisation to provide companies with the knowledge and skills they need to maximise the commercial exploitation of their IP assets. But knowledge comes in various forms, some of which can benefit your company and some ...

5 Ways an IP Holding Company Could Benefit Your Business At Metis Partners, we like to describe intellectual property holding companies (“IPCos”) to our clients as an “insurance policy”.  It’s never too early to think about the strategic management of your IP and to “ring-fence” or separate these assets from the potential trading risks faced by your business. An IPCo is a form of special purpose vehicle whose function is ...

What to expect “In intellectual property terms, it took us ten years to be an overnight success!” Graeme Malcolm of M Squared makes a good point here, that building an effective IP strategy is a journey, not a destination. Graeme described intellectual property protection to be like a set of Russian dolls, slowly adding layer after layer of IP value, ...