The use of Intellectual Property by Small and Middle-sized enterprises

Master's Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject Business economics - Personnel and Organisation, grade: 1,3, University of Gttingen, language: English, abstract: Since the past half century we observe a growing importance of Intellectual Property (IP) which is often associated with a shift towards a knowledge-based economy. In knowledgebased
economies, IP protection and management have become the highly important element for business success. Intellectual Property is everywhere: it is embedded in daily-needs
products, high-tech equipment, technology, as well organizational routines. Having become crucial in modern world, Intellectual Property and knowledge capital, more than physical
capital, drive economies of different countries. About 70% of business assets today are intangibles.1
Not less important for economy are small and middle-sized enterprises (SMEs). This strategic sector covers the whole spectrum of economic fields and is a very important
contributor to sustainable economic development. Representing over 90% of all business establishments and about half or more of GDP and export shares SME sector is often
associated with a 'backbone' of most national economies.2
Intellectual Property is increasingly regarded as a valuable resource for individuals, firms and nations, and as a source of competitive advantage.3 Nowadays, companies are
exploiting IP rights not only for protection and security of return purposes; they increasingly use them due to strategic reasons. Numerous studies and literatures4 recognized SMEs as an
important contributor to innovation. However, there is still a little understanding of how SMEs manage their IP. Existing studies have focused mainly on large firms and,
particularly, on patenting activity, and there are still few attempts to bridge all three together: SMEs, Intellectual Property and IP management. The aim of this paper is an analysis of SME's performance in innovation and the state of
SMEs in IP system. For this reason two