During recent meetings in Washington D.C. to discuss patent legislation reform, our assistant vice president for federal relations at Indiana University, Doug Wasitis, passed along an insightful article published on Forbes.com. It discusses the importance of making intellectual property (IP) a key part of a new company’s business strategy so its value for potential investors can be maximized.

The article cites examples of companies such as Groupon or Airbnb that have launched innovative products, yet soon found themselves fending off competitors who parroted much the same service — albeit in different ways — which, in turn, siphoned business from those companies. According to the article’s author, angel investor Bijan Khosravi, such activity can be avoided when companies use the power of patenting to protect their products.

Perhaps more importantly, Khosravi also notes how strong research universities (such as IU) are “the best place” for investors to acquire IP, then transfer that technology to the marketplace. Which, of course, is a primary mission of the Indiana University Research and Technology Corp. and a key impetus within our Innovate Indiana initiative.

Anyhow, read more about the importance of IP protection for successful startups in the Forbes article here: