But the survey also found that 78% of companies are failing to manage their intellectual property effectively. Less than half have carried out an IP audit and only 52% have an up-to-date plan for their IP assets.

The survey was carried out by Lighthouse Global, a consultancy specialising in the legal sector. It conducted 150 interviews with lawyers and commercial managers responsible for IP in France, Germany and the UK during the summer.

The companies surveyed were in four industries - media and entertainment, technology and telecoms, retail and life science and pharmaceuticals - and their turnover ranged from £20 million ($33 million, €25 million) to £2 billion ($3.3 billion, €2.5 billion).

Two-thirds of those surveyed said they are planning for growth abroad in the next three, years, while 68% agreed intellectual property is vital for growth - as the economic climate makes growth through capital-intensive methods more difficult.

Mark Holah, an IP partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse, said there are a number of reasons why IP becomes more important in a downturn: "There are opportunities for both expansion and maintaining your position. With expansion, if you have previously been setting up subsidiary companies, for example, you can use IP as the basis for a joint venture or offer a franchise instead. Companies will also be focused more on protecting what they have: if the total market for a product is shrinking, you can better maintain, or even increase, your market share if you have a very strong brand."

But Holah also acknowledged that in-house counsel will be under pressure: "It is inevitable that budgets will be cut. You have to be smarter and more focused, work out what you've got, what's valuable and put a plan in place."

The survey makes four recommendations for managing IP assets in a downturn: (1) assess the rights you have, (2) grow understanding of and drive engagement with IP, (3) explore options to maximise IP revenues and (4) select advisers with experience in different IP systems.

Copies of the survey can be requested by emailing the firm.

The November issue of Managing IP , available to subscribers and free triallists online, includes a list of tips on how brand owners can survive the credit crunch.

The article also features a look at how IP strategies were affected by Japan's economic crisis in the 1990s, statistics on how trade mark applications fare during a downturn and analysis of the impact of the credit crunch on counterfeiting.