Valuable assets threatened by shifting ground Intellecutal property is today's competitive weapon but exploiting and protecting it is becoming more difficult and complex Read Intellecutal property protection Too important to be just a technical issue The protection of a company's intellectual property should be seen as an important strategic issue that forms part of the board's responsibilities The European influence Inexorable drive to harmonisation The direction of intellectual property rights is becoming less and less influenced by national laws within EU member states Chartered director Certainly not a soft option The Institute of Directors launched its chartered director programme just over a year ago. It is fine tuning it in the light of experience and has been encouraged by the interest shown both in the UK and overseas Fraud Pressure grows to counter risks As many as half of Europe's largest companies may have been the victim of fraud last year, according to estimates