Potential investors, acquirers and commercial partners, among others, will scrutinize a company’s intellectual property to determine its value. For example, they will focus on whether a company actually owns the intellectual property it claims to own and whether the intellectual property can serve as a foothold against larger, established companies in its sector or other competing startups. As a result, from inception start-ups should focus on establishing a clear “chain of ownership” of their intellectual property and be thoughtful about the means by which they protect their intellectual property.