In an increasingly digital and knowledge-based economy, it is no longer steel, oil, or concrete that define the strength of a company – it is its intellectual capital. Ideas, creativity, algorithms, brands, and patents have become the new raw materials of the 21st century. Yet, despite being the silent engines of economic growth, they remain underestimated, poorly accounted for, and often misunderstood.
Intangible resources – everything that cannot be touched but still holds value – now represent the backbone of the most successful companies in the world. Just look at giants like Apple, Google, or Tesla: what truly sets them apart is not factories or machinery, but protected knowledge, registered innovation, established brand equity, and highly specialized human capital. What appears on their balance sheets is only a shadow of their true worth.
Industrial property as a strategic asset
Within this universe of intangibles, industrial property assets (patents, trademarks, designs, models, trade secrets) are particularly relevant because they transform creativity into exclusive rights – and consequently, into economic power. A patent protects a technological invention and grants its holder temporary monopoly over its use; a trademark distinguishes products and services in a saturated market; an industrial design gives aesthetic identity and emotional value.
However, in many companies – especially SMEs – these assets are seen as bureaucratic or secondary. They invest in machinery but not in protecting the innovation that machinery produces. They build a strong brand but fail to register the name or logo. They develop technology but do not document its innovative nature. The result is predictable: stolen ideas, copied brands, and destroyed value before it is even recognized.
The undervaluation that weakens companies
The undervaluation of intangible assets is one of the greatest structural weaknesses of the European economy – and particularly the Portuguese one. While in the United States and Asia, investment in intellectual property is seen as a strategy of defense and expansion, in Portugal it is still viewed as an administrative cost.
The irony is that, in a globalized world, the absence of legal protection is equivalent to giving away your innovation for free.
Portuguese companies that export technology, design, or differentiated products often compete in markets where industrial property rights are the most valuable currency. A registered patent can make the difference between being purchased or being copied; a well-positioned brand can turn an ordinary product into a symbol of trust; a solid IP portfolio can be the asset that attracts investors and opens doors to financing.
From cost to strategic investment
The mindset must change: protection is not spending – it is investing. And investment in industrial property should be seen as an integral part of knowledge management strategy.
Today, those who control knowledge control the market. And those who do not protect the knowledge they generate are involuntarily funding someone else’s progress.
This paradigm shift also requires institutional effort. Governments and innovation agencies (such as national IP offices or investment agencies) must simplify processes, clarify costs, and promote education on the importance of these assets. Intellectual property literacy is still very low in Portugal – not only among managers but also among entrepreneurs and technicians.
At the same time, universities and research centers should be encouraged to turn their discoveries into transferable patents, not just scientific papers. We must connect knowledge to the real economy, and industrial property is the most direct bridge to achieve that.
The economy of the invisible
We live in an era where value is increasingly immaterial. Software is worth more than hardware; design is worth more than material; brand is worth more than product.
In this context, industrial property assets are the legal and economic foundation of sustainable growth. They allow innovation to translate into tangible value, ensure that the risk of innovating is rewarded, and give measurable return to talent.
To ignore them is to embrace irrelevance. To recognize them is to open the door to the future.
In short, in the knowledge economy, the invisible is what matters most. And the success of future companies will depend not only on their ability to create, but on their ability to protect what they create – and to turn that protected knowledge into competitive advantage.
Because, ultimately, innovation only has value when it is defended.