Why Patents?
Discover how patents can reveal key insights into corporate activities and provide a competitive edge in mosaic investment strategies.
WHY Patents Matter
IFI believes that ANY & ALL company research or due diligence that does not consider patents is incomplete.
“S&P 500 companies' intangible assets have gone from 17% of total assets in 1975 to 90% last year” (2020),* thus providing an indication that 90% of American corporate wealth is held in intangibles. Patent data is typically viewed as holding the lion's share of intangible asset value.
* Alan Murray and David Meyer, “We are All Tech Companies Now,” Fortune, 2021
From corporate viability to credit valuations to identifying R&D efficiency, patents are an objective measurement of success. In fact, a European Union Intellectual Property Office study found that companies with patents generate 55% more revenue per employee compared to companies without. Further, patents are utilized as a competitive intelligence tool to determine which geographic markets are being targeted along with the given area of technology focus.
