It’s no secret that many of the tech industry’s current giants had humble beginnings as small startups in dire need of financial support from investors. Just the opposite, in fact: once a firm is more established, an underdog story of early self-sufficiency can make for a great marketing campaign about passion, ambition, and leadership coming together to create a service or product - with the help of a little seldom-mentioned outside funding.

Intellectual property (IP) is often the major distinguishing factor [...]