Knowledge Management to Intellectual Capital to Intellectual Property

6.0 Conclusions
IPR regimes (WTO, WIPO, TRIPs, different conventions/treaties, etc) are complicated creatures and they will continue to change and adapt over time. Whilst the existence of IP laws and international guidelines are addressing the legal issues related to IPRs. The diversity of IPRs is not helpful in and of itself. There are a number of problems, which clearly affect the protection of Intellectual property. Some issues occurring not just in one area on the intellectual property, but throughout the number of them. The company can experience problems straight from the start of an ownership of intellectual property. The development itself, the time and effort from the inventor or originator, the amount of resources it requires, followed by the registration process (in patent and trade mark cases), which can also be refused - all these factors need to be considered when a company is dealing with the intellectual property. The problems do not necessary stop there. When an intellectual property is registered and exposed to the public, there is a danger that a competitor can copy and use it for their own advantage, leaving the originator/owner spending substantial amounts of money on tracking these activities. If infringement actually occurs, the owner will then be wasting substantial amount time and more money on court proceedings. …