Arlington, Va. – May 20, 2020 – The Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) and Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, released “Beyond Patents: IP Strategy, Valuation, and Management in Manufacturing” that delves into the current state of intellectual property (IP) in the sector. At its core, the research found that IP is misunderstood, undervalued, underinsured, and underappreciated as a source of signifant enterprise value. With operations and supply chains disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are facing new IP-based threats and challenges.

“Given the current uncertainty, it is critical for businesses to understand that their IP is one of their most valuable assets that retains significant value through recessionary periods,” said Lewis Lee, CEO, Intellectual Property, Aon. “As companies grapple with evolving business models particularly to face unprecedented disruption, they must find ways to best leverage their IP assets to add liquidity, deflect potential IP-based risks, and protect a re-imagined post-crisis future. This research provides a strategic roadmap for intellectual property management.”

Key findings of the research include:

• Most companies (75%) have centralized IP strategies, but there is room for improvement, particularly in the largest organizations.
• The business case remains supreme in demonstrating ROI and getting support for IP management.
• Risks are rising rapidly. Sixty percent of manufacturing leaders, before the COVID-19 pandemic, expected IP risk to increase in the next two years. And over half have reported experiencing an “IP event” in the past two years.
• Only 25% of manufacturing leaders say their company is leading in IP management practices.

“The research found that many manufacturing companies have a solid process to protect patented information. However, with competition, a newly remote workforce, and the proliferation of technology and services today, the possibilities for trade secrets are rising,” noted David Beckoff, Vice President of Research, MAPI. “This report provides a structure for manufacturers to improve their organization’s resilience in protecting intellectual property.”  

Read the full findings and analysis here. And see the related infographic on our blog post.

About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) is a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120 countries empower results for clients by using proprietary data and analytics to deliver insights that reduce volatility and improve performance.

About MAPI
Founded in 1933, the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation is a nonprofit organization that connects manufacturing leaders with the ideas they need to make smarter decisions. As the manufacturing leadership network, its mission is to build strong leadership within manufacturing to drive the growth, profitability, and stature of global manufacturers. For more information, visit mapi.net.

Media Contacts:
Kristin Graybill
MAPI
+ 1.703.841.9000
news@mapi.net

Michael V. Marinello
Aon
+1.917.683.8610
Michael.Marinello@aon.com