Inngot CEO Martin Brassell at WIPO conference on IP-based finance: it’s time to get the message across that IP and intangibles now make better collateral for lenders than tangibles
13 May 2025
Author
Martin Croft
PR & Communications Manager
Speaking on a panel for the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) latest event in its IP Finance conference series, which took place today, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, Inngot CEO Martin Brassell said:
“I think it's time to go more on the offensive. What do I mean by that? I think too many of the conversations that we have, particularly with lenders in my experience, are essentially defensive about intellectual property and trying to justify why it's not the same as other forms of collateral.”
In fact, he continued, “in many ways, it's fundamentally superior to other forms of collateral.”
Martin was a participant in the first panel of the day, which covered developments in IP-based finance. His focus was on why IP matters to lenders and how best it can be used by banks as collateral.
Kicking off the event, Daren Tang, director general of WIPO, said in his introductory address: “Intangible assets remain largely invisible in standard financial reporting. Why? Because traditional accounting systems were built for the industrial era. This means that they work well for assets you can buy and sell but not for those that you create like codes designs and IP. As a result, some of the most valuable assets in modern firms never appear on the balance sheet. And this gap matters. It clouds valuation, it limits access to finance. And for startups and small and medium enterprises, it can be a barrier to growth.”
Key WIPO executives, including Marco M. Alemán, WIPO Assistant Director-General. IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector, Allison Mages, Head, WIPO IP Commercialization Section, and Michael Kos, Intellectual Property Finance and Valuation Expert, WIPO IP Commercialization Section, then outlined how the WIPO IP-backed finance project has evolved since it was launched in 2022 with the High-level Conversation on Unlocking Intangible Asset Finance (at which Martin Brassell was also a key speaker) and then current plans to move the dialogue on IP finance forward.
The first panel of today’s event – Perspectives on Best Practices Supporting IP Finance – featured, in addition to Martin Brassell: Nicolas Konialidis, Technical Director Business Valuation Board and Asia Director, International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), Singapore; Iynna Halilou, Partner, The MBA Fund and Lecturer at HEC Paris, France; Rodrigo Ventura, Chief Economist, National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Moderated by WIPO’s Allison Mages, it explored best practices for building robust IP finance ecosystems, including valuation standards, investment criteria, and policy tools that support the reliable use of IP in financing, drawing on insights from public institutions, valuation bodies, and finance and advisory professionals.
Other key points Martin Brassell made were that IP-rich firms are more resilient and that UK research shows that they default less and, if there are any losses, they are smaller. He suggested: “It's about the importance of the assets to the business. Because they offer competitive differentiation and freedom to operate and barriers to entry, they're not assets that either a business or the business's investors will willingly let go. And that means they have tremendous behavioural influencing power.”
Martin also discussed how lenders are beginning to understand that IP assets are unique, and so are highly unlikely to be affected by external shocks, as happened with property assets during the Global Financial Crisis. That means a portfolio of IP-backed loans is highly unlikely to be affected, if one borrower runs into problems. “So there's a diversification benefit there too, which I think shouldn't be underestimated.”
But lenders have to understand that if they want to take a company’s core IP as collateral, they have to offer something in return. “What we're seeing in the behaviour in the UK is that there's three ways in which the bank can give something back in exchange for this proper enforceable security interest. The first one is lending where they wouldn't otherwise lend. The second one is lending more than they might otherwise be willing to lend. And then the third one is lending on better terms. And we're seeing evidence of all three of those.”
The theme for this IP Finance Dialogue series event was The Value of Intangible Assets. The program includes the presentation of the work and preliminary findings of WIPO experts on a study on financial reporting and disclosure on intangibles, and how this can build trust with lenders and investors.
Two other panels covered transparency in IP, and how intangible asset disclosure can be enhanced, and the role of valuation in IP finance, and how it can support the use of IP in financing, particularly for SMEs and innovation-driven businesses.
There have been a number of events since the inaugural event in November, 2022. WIPO has also been working with local intellectual property offices around the world on a series of reports on the state of IP finance in various countries, including the UK.
Martin Brassell edited the UK report, working with WIPO and the UK Intellectual Property Office. Inngot has also contributed to other WIPO projects, including the development of online and downloadable support materials on IP finance for lenders, companies and educators.
Speaking on a panel for the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) latest event in its IP Finance conference series, which took place today, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, Inngot CEO Martin Brassell said:
“I think it's time to go more on the offensive. What do I mean by that? I think too many of the conversations that we have, particularly with lenders in my experience, are essentially defensive about intellectual property and trying to justify why it's not the same as other forms of collateral.”
In fact, he continued, “in many ways, it's fundamentally superior to other forms of collateral.”
Martin was a participant in the first panel of the day, which covered developments in IP-based finance. His focus was on why IP matters to lenders and how best it can be used by banks as collateral.
Kicking off the event, Daren Tang, director general of WIPO, said in his introductory address: “Intangible assets remain largely invisible in standard financial reporting. Why? Because traditional accounting systems were built for the industrial era. This means that they work well for assets you can buy and sell but not for those that you create like codes designs and IP. As a result, some of the most valuable assets in modern firms never appear on the balance sheet. And this gap matters. It clouds valuation, it limits access to finance. And for startups and small and medium enterprises, it can be a barrier to growth.”
Key WIPO executives, including Marco M. Alemán, WIPO Assistant Director-General. IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector, Allison Mages, Head, WIPO IP Commercialization Section, and Michael Kos, Intellectual Property Finance and Valuation Expert, WIPO IP Commercialization Section, then outlined how the WIPO IP-backed finance project has evolved since it was launched in 2022 with the High-level Conversation on Unlocking Intangible Asset Finance (at which Martin Brassell was also a key speaker) and then current plans to move the dialogue on IP finance forward.
The first panel of today’s event – Perspectives on Best Practices Supporting IP Finance – featured, in addition to Martin Brassell: Nicolas Konialidis, Technical Director Business Valuation Board and Asia Director, International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), Singapore; Iynna Halilou, Partner, The MBA Fund and Lecturer at HEC Paris, France; Rodrigo Ventura, Chief Economist, National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Moderated by WIPO’s Allison Mages, it explored best practices for building robust IP finance ecosystems, including valuation standards, investment criteria, and policy tools that support the reliable use of IP in financing, drawing on insights from public institutions, valuation bodies, and finance and advisory professionals.
Other key points Martin Brassell made were that IP-rich firms are more resilient and that UK research shows that they default less and, if there are any losses, they are smaller. He suggested: “It's about the importance of the assets to the business. Because they offer competitive differentiation and freedom to operate and barriers to entry, they're not assets that either a business or the business's investors will willingly let go. And that means they have tremendous behavioural influencing power.”
Martin also discussed how lenders are beginning to understand that IP assets are unique, and so are highly unlikely to be affected by external shocks, as happened with property assets during the Global Financial Crisis. That means a portfolio of IP-backed loans is highly unlikely to be affected, if one borrower runs into problems. “So there's a diversification benefit there too, which I think shouldn't be underestimated.”
But lenders have to understand that if they want to take a company’s core IP as collateral, they have to offer something in return. “What we're seeing in the behaviour in the UK is that there's three ways in which the bank can give something back in exchange for this proper enforceable security interest. The first one is lending where they wouldn't otherwise lend. The second one is lending more than they might otherwise be willing to lend. And then the third one is lending on better terms. And we're seeing evidence of all three of those.”
The theme for this IP Finance Dialogue series event was The Value of Intangible Assets. The program includes the presentation of the work and preliminary findings of WIPO experts on a study on financial reporting and disclosure on intangibles, and how this can build trust with lenders and investors.
Two other panels covered transparency in IP, and how intangible asset disclosure can be enhanced, and the role of valuation in IP finance, and how it can support the use of IP in financing, particularly for SMEs and innovation-driven businesses.
There have been a number of events since the inaugural event in November, 2022. WIPO has also been working with local intellectual property offices around the world on a series of reports on the state of IP finance in various countries, including the UK.
Martin Brassell edited the UK report, working with WIPO and the UK Intellectual Property Office. Inngot has also contributed to other WIPO projects, including the development of online and downloadable support materials on IP finance for lenders, companies and educators.
Speaking on a panel for the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) latest event in its IP Finance conference series, which took place today, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, Inngot CEO Martin Brassell said:
“I think it's time to go more on the offensive. What do I mean by that? I think too many of the conversations that we have, particularly with lenders in my experience, are essentially defensive about intellectual property and trying to justify why it's not the same as other forms of collateral.”
In fact, he continued, “in many ways, it's fundamentally superior to other forms of collateral.”
Martin was a participant in the first panel of the day, which covered developments in IP-based finance. His focus was on why IP matters to lenders and how best it can be used by banks as collateral.
Kicking off the event, Daren Tang, director general of WIPO, said in his introductory address: “Intangible assets remain largely invisible in standard financial reporting. Why? Because traditional accounting systems were built for the industrial era. This means that they work well for assets you can buy and sell but not for those that you create like codes designs and IP. As a result, some of the most valuable assets in modern firms never appear on the balance sheet. And this gap matters. It clouds valuation, it limits access to finance. And for startups and small and medium enterprises, it can be a barrier to growth.”
Key WIPO executives, including Marco M. Alemán, WIPO Assistant Director-General. IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector, Allison Mages, Head, WIPO IP Commercialization Section, and Michael Kos, Intellectual Property Finance and Valuation Expert, WIPO IP Commercialization Section, then outlined how the WIPO IP-backed finance project has evolved since it was launched in 2022 with the High-level Conversation on Unlocking Intangible Asset Finance (at which Martin Brassell was also a key speaker) and then current plans to move the dialogue on IP finance forward.
The first panel of today’s event – Perspectives on Best Practices Supporting IP Finance – featured, in addition to Martin Brassell: Nicolas Konialidis, Technical Director Business Valuation Board and Asia Director, International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), Singapore; Iynna Halilou, Partner, The MBA Fund and Lecturer at HEC Paris, France; Rodrigo Ventura, Chief Economist, National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Moderated by WIPO’s Allison Mages, it explored best practices for building robust IP finance ecosystems, including valuation standards, investment criteria, and policy tools that support the reliable use of IP in financing, drawing on insights from public institutions, valuation bodies, and finance and advisory professionals.
Other key points Martin Brassell made were that IP-rich firms are more resilient and that UK research shows that they default less and, if there are any losses, they are smaller. He suggested: “It's about the importance of the assets to the business. Because they offer competitive differentiation and freedom to operate and barriers to entry, they're not assets that either a business or the business's investors will willingly let go. And that means they have tremendous behavioural influencing power.”
Martin also discussed how lenders are beginning to understand that IP assets are unique, and so are highly unlikely to be affected by external shocks, as happened with property assets during the Global Financial Crisis. That means a portfolio of IP-backed loans is highly unlikely to be affected, if one borrower runs into problems. “So there's a diversification benefit there too, which I think shouldn't be underestimated.”
But lenders have to understand that if they want to take a company’s core IP as collateral, they have to offer something in return. “What we're seeing in the behaviour in the UK is that there's three ways in which the bank can give something back in exchange for this proper enforceable security interest. The first one is lending where they wouldn't otherwise lend. The second one is lending more than they might otherwise be willing to lend. And then the third one is lending on better terms. And we're seeing evidence of all three of those.”
The theme for this IP Finance Dialogue series event was The Value of Intangible Assets. The program includes the presentation of the work and preliminary findings of WIPO experts on a study on financial reporting and disclosure on intangibles, and how this can build trust with lenders and investors.
Two other panels covered transparency in IP, and how intangible asset disclosure can be enhanced, and the role of valuation in IP finance, and how it can support the use of IP in financing, particularly for SMEs and innovation-driven businesses.
There have been a number of events since the inaugural event in November, 2022. WIPO has also been working with local intellectual property offices around the world on a series of reports on the state of IP finance in various countries, including the UK.
Martin Brassell edited the UK report, working with WIPO and the UK Intellectual Property Office. Inngot has also contributed to other WIPO projects, including the development of online and downloadable support materials on IP finance for lenders, companies and educators.
Speaking on a panel for the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) latest event in its IP Finance conference series, which took place today, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, Inngot CEO Martin Brassell said:
“I think it's time to go more on the offensive. What do I mean by that? I think too many of the conversations that we have, particularly with lenders in my experience, are essentially defensive about intellectual property and trying to justify why it's not the same as other forms of collateral.”
In fact, he continued, “in many ways, it's fundamentally superior to other forms of collateral.”
Martin was a participant in the first panel of the day, which covered developments in IP-based finance. His focus was on why IP matters to lenders and how best it can be used by banks as collateral.
Kicking off the event, Daren Tang, director general of WIPO, said in his introductory address: “Intangible assets remain largely invisible in standard financial reporting. Why? Because traditional accounting systems were built for the industrial era. This means that they work well for assets you can buy and sell but not for those that you create like codes designs and IP. As a result, some of the most valuable assets in modern firms never appear on the balance sheet. And this gap matters. It clouds valuation, it limits access to finance. And for startups and small and medium enterprises, it can be a barrier to growth.”
Key WIPO executives, including Marco M. Alemán, WIPO Assistant Director-General. IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector, Allison Mages, Head, WIPO IP Commercialization Section, and Michael Kos, Intellectual Property Finance and Valuation Expert, WIPO IP Commercialization Section, then outlined how the WIPO IP-backed finance project has evolved since it was launched in 2022 with the High-level Conversation on Unlocking Intangible Asset Finance (at which Martin Brassell was also a key speaker) and then current plans to move the dialogue on IP finance forward.
The first panel of today’s event – Perspectives on Best Practices Supporting IP Finance – featured, in addition to Martin Brassell: Nicolas Konialidis, Technical Director Business Valuation Board and Asia Director, International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), Singapore; Iynna Halilou, Partner, The MBA Fund and Lecturer at HEC Paris, France; Rodrigo Ventura, Chief Economist, National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Moderated by WIPO’s Allison Mages, it explored best practices for building robust IP finance ecosystems, including valuation standards, investment criteria, and policy tools that support the reliable use of IP in financing, drawing on insights from public institutions, valuation bodies, and finance and advisory professionals.
Other key points Martin Brassell made were that IP-rich firms are more resilient and that UK research shows that they default less and, if there are any losses, they are smaller. He suggested: “It's about the importance of the assets to the business. Because they offer competitive differentiation and freedom to operate and barriers to entry, they're not assets that either a business or the business's investors will willingly let go. And that means they have tremendous behavioural influencing power.”
Martin also discussed how lenders are beginning to understand that IP assets are unique, and so are highly unlikely to be affected by external shocks, as happened with property assets during the Global Financial Crisis. That means a portfolio of IP-backed loans is highly unlikely to be affected, if one borrower runs into problems. “So there's a diversification benefit there too, which I think shouldn't be underestimated.”
But lenders have to understand that if they want to take a company’s core IP as collateral, they have to offer something in return. “What we're seeing in the behaviour in the UK is that there's three ways in which the bank can give something back in exchange for this proper enforceable security interest. The first one is lending where they wouldn't otherwise lend. The second one is lending more than they might otherwise be willing to lend. And then the third one is lending on better terms. And we're seeing evidence of all three of those.”
The theme for this IP Finance Dialogue series event was The Value of Intangible Assets. The program includes the presentation of the work and preliminary findings of WIPO experts on a study on financial reporting and disclosure on intangibles, and how this can build trust with lenders and investors.
Two other panels covered transparency in IP, and how intangible asset disclosure can be enhanced, and the role of valuation in IP finance, and how it can support the use of IP in financing, particularly for SMEs and innovation-driven businesses.
There have been a number of events since the inaugural event in November, 2022. WIPO has also been working with local intellectual property offices around the world on a series of reports on the state of IP finance in various countries, including the UK.
Martin Brassell edited the UK report, working with WIPO and the UK Intellectual Property Office. Inngot has also contributed to other WIPO projects, including the development of online and downloadable support materials on IP finance for lenders, companies and educators.
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Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
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Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2025. All rights reserved.