As harsh economic realities converge with impressive technological innovations, the entrepreneurial spirit is as strong as ever with creative minds poised to deliver the next big breakthrough. For startups hoping to gain the attention of investors and possibly larger competitors, intellectual property management should follow closely behind product development on their organizational priority lists.

According to TechCrunch, a strong patent portfolio is especially attractive to large companies when scouting out potential acquisitions. With multi-million-dollar IP litigation battles grabbing headlines in the technology industry, firms are now more conscious than ever about the importance of covering all bases to protect their revenue streams. As such, they will gravitate toward acquisition candidates that have their affairs in order and can deflect infringement claims in the future.

The recent jump in patent prices and noted correlation between patent-laden startups and high valuations are clear indicators of where the market is headed, according to the news source.

Comprehensive IP protection is also important for startups because even seemingly mundane processes could one day evolve into a lucrative innovation. For example, the pull-to-refresh feature included in countless mobile applications was originally invented by developer Loren Brichter several years ago. Seeing the potential, Twitter soon bought the rights to Brichter's innovation and is now making it a central component of its own IP monetization strategy.