Abstract: Intellectual properties (IP) are an ever increasingly valuable asset, purposes and benefits of an IP audit are the most valuable asset of organizations. This article addresses intellectual property audits, which can serve as an important first step in maximizing intellectual propertys promises and minimizing its pitfalls. From managers perspective, such an audit identifies organizations core assets and allows the business to focus on them. In this way, an IP audit allows an organization to maximize the value of its intellectual property, that value-maximized intellectual property can in turn provide the organization with competitive advantage. It is the thesis of this article that IP audit should be more closely linked to the organizations value proposition than is commonly supposed, because an organization’s IP portfolio should itself be closely linked to its value proposition.

　　Keywords:Intellectual Property; IP audit; IP assets management.

　　说明：本文发表在《In Proceeding of the First International Conference on Management Innovation》, Shanghai, June 4-6, 2007