If you believe that your chief source of sustainable business success is the company's skill, knowledge, and information, you are likely in the forefront of the new economy – an economy fueled by intellectual assets, rather than hard assets. And if you are an executive of a technology–based business, you're probably fully aware that the source of your competitive advantage is your technology–based intellectual asset base. Collectively, these assets – including patents, trademarks, trade secrets, know–how, engineering drawings, and computer software – can be worth several times the book value of your tangible assets. Very likely, you realize that much of your technology–based asset pool is still untapped as a source of value–creation.