Germany: "How much is that trade mark in my portfolio?"

German business newspaper Handelsblatt reports on the potential effect of the proposed new Bilanzrichtlinienmodernisierungsgesetz (Accounting Directives Modernisations Law), which introduces new accounting rules which will force mid sized companies to evaluate the development costs of their intellectual property in their financial balances to a higher degree. In the view of Professor Alexander Wurzer of the Centre d´Etudes Internationales de la Propriete Industrielle (CEIPI) of the university of Strassbourg, the proposed amendment of § 248 (2) Handelsgesetzbuch (Commerical Code) "...will increase awareness of the worth of intellectual property". More details of the proposed changes to the Handelsgesetzbuch can be found here (all in German).