The WIPO ASEAN IP Valuation Project
The ASEAN region committed to develop harmonized intellectual property right (IPR) management practices, including in the area of IP valuation, as stated in the deliverable 17.2 of the ASEAN IPR Action Plan 2016-2025: “Conduct a study on the best practices for IP valuation, including on the IP and non-IP legal and policy frameworks that help increase the recognition of the value of IP as a financial asset in the business community “. Thus, the WIPO ASEAN IP Valuation Project was launched in 2023, which saw a collaboration between WIPO, the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC), national IP Offices, support from the Japan Patent Office, and involvement of regional and international experts.
20 September 2024
Background
The WIPO ASEAN IP Valuation Project aims to increase trust in intellectual property (IP) valuation work products and promote best practices in the region. IP valuation is carried out various contexts and by professionals of several different backgrounds. As a result, the process to conduct valuation and the resulting work products vary accordingly.
The project had two phases. The first phase was a survey with interviews of nearly 400 practitioners, financial experts, technology managers and enterprises from 10 member states, to identify the status of IP valuation in the region, potential challenges, impeding factors and recommendations. The survey focused on the use and practice of IP valuation, to identify gaps and best practices.
Based on the study, the following recommendations emerged:
- IP valuation as a tool was not widely used in ASEAN for various reasons, including unfamiliarity by potential users and/or lack of access to expertise. As a result, there is a lack of consistency in IP valuation reports.
- Raising awareness on IP valuation will take time.
- Adopting a common format for IP valuation reports across ASEAN Member States could help build local IP valuation capacity and promote the virtuous cycle of market driven need.
- Fostering consistency in standards and methodologies applied to increase acceptance of IP valuation reports.
- Having a minimum level of content can also promote reliability and acceptance by users.
- Creating an IP valuation toolkit and the guidance through an associated training program would serve as a starting point to establish and foster best practices in the IP valuation profession.
The report and findings were presented to the ASEAN Working Group on IP Cooperation (AWGIPC) in September 2023 and endorsed by ASEAN member states. As a result, the ASEAN IP valuation toolkit was created. This toolkit is subject to further refinement and adaptation based on feedback obtained from the community.
IP Valuation Toolkit – ASEAN region
This IP valuation toolkit is designed to facilitate application of best practices and commonly acceptable principles and approaches amongst IP valuation practitioners in the ASEAN region and contains relevant processes, useful references and best reporting practices.
The toolkit assumes a basic understanding of IP valuation approaches and methodologies. The IP valuation toolkit will also be used as reference for training programs on IP valuation in the region.
Who should use this toolkit?
The toolkit is designed for valuation professionals who already have a basic understanding of the IP valuation approaches and methodologies.