Business strategies for multinational intellectual property protection

Intellectual property protection and management (IPPM) are important operational and strategic issues especially for global companies. Most prior discussions of this topic focus heavily on the legal aspects of this topic. However, by the time legal action becomes necessary, the stakes and costs have risen to very high levels for all parties. This article argues that the nonlegal aspects of IPPM are perhaps more important in practice and can be designed to forestall or limit more expensive legal action. This article provides some guidelines and practical advice for companies that would like to improve their IPPM processes. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.