Each new year brings the opportunity for a business to reassess its priorities and revitalize its operations. For a number of organizations, 2012 could be the time to take stock of their intellectual assets and devise new strategies to leverage their worth.

In a recent interview with Smart Business Online, intellectual property attorney Robert Andris highlighted the importance of proactive IP management and the perils of postponing action.

"The use of illicit IP not only deprives the true owner of a sale, if the fake goods are of lower quality than the original, it can ruin or at least tarnish the image of the IP's true owner," Andris explained. "In some situations, when a business allows an individual or company to infringe on or use its IP for an extended period of time without contesting that use, the first owner can lose its rights to that IP."

To ensure no stone is left unturned - and no opportunity or vulnerability is left unexplored - Andris recommends implementing a consistent IP audit schedule. With regulatory frameworks and market landscapes evolving faster than ever before, it may also be worth investing in consulting services or advanced IP management software solutions.

According to global IP expert and World Intellectual Property Organization advisor Ian Cockburn, it is critical for business executives to remember they can only manage what they can measure. In this way, IP audits provide the quantifiable evidence to shape informed IP strategy.