Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Summer 2013
  • Article
  • California Management Review

Strategic Management of Intellectual Property: An Integrated Approach

By: William W. Fisher III and Felix Oberholzer-Gee
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

In many organizations, the R&D, strategy, and legal functions are poorly integrated. As a consequence, firms miss opportunities to create and exploit the value of intellectual property. Functional silos are one reason for the lack of integration. More important, however, is the lack of a common framework and even language that would allow engineers, lawyers, and business executives to manage IP assets better. This article provides such a framework. There is no one best way to manage IP, and many managers overestimate the attractiveness of using IP to exert market power. Rather, the value of the various means to protect and benefit from IP depends on firm strategy, the competitive landscape, and the rapidly changing contours of intellectual property law.

Keywords

Innovation Management; Strategic Management; Legal Aspects Of Business; Licensing; Law; Innovation and Management; Knowledge Management; Intellectual Property; Business Strategy

Citation

Fisher III, William W., and Felix Oberholzer-Gee. "Strategic Management of Intellectual Property: An Integrated Approach." California Management Review 55, no. 4 (Summer 2013): 157–183.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now

About The Author

Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Strategy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • February 2023 (Revised March 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Hey, Insta & YouTube, Are You Watching TikTok?

    By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee
    • 13 Oct 2022
    • Faculty Research

    4 Business Ideas That Changed the World: Disruptive Innovation

    By: Amy Bernstein, Rita McGrath, Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Derek van Bever
    • March 2022
    • Faculty Research

    SimpliSafe—Safe From Disruption?

    By: David Collis, Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Terrence Shu
More from the Authors
  • Hey, Insta & YouTube, Are You Watching TikTok? By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee
  • 4 Business Ideas That Changed the World: Disruptive Innovation By: Amy Bernstein, Rita McGrath, Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Derek van Bever
  • SimpliSafe—Safe From Disruption? By: David Collis, Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Terrence Shu
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College