Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie

The value of Intellectual Property rights in business

A company is first and foremost a group of people who combine their efforts, knowledge, talent and enthusiasm to market a product. This company will invest money to design, manufacture and promote its product. The product will usually have intellectual property rights associated with it. In the watchmaking segment, a watch can carry a brand name or an indication of geographic origin ; its form can be considered a design or a work of creation, and a patent can be filed for one or more of its components. While a company's machinery, stocks and buildings are hard to steal, intellectual property rights are easily misappropriated. Knowing that these rights have a far greater value than the company's tangible assets, there can be no doubt about the damage caused to the company.