Intellectual property rights have long been regarded as a matter for specialists of a branch of law, their impact on competitiveness was referred to in the mass circulation press only in the past ten years, in particular in relation to international negotiations like the GATT agreement. After a brief description of the nature of intellectual property rights as they appear in support of scientific research, the deficiencies of the presently fragmented systems of national patents of the European as well as Community patents are presented with their consequences in terms of cost, reliability, and predictability. The difficulties related to their enforcement and to the differences of interpretation on patentability criteria in a world of global competition are also emphasized. The role of intellectual property rights in the evaluation and reward of researchers, their importance in the process of the creation of new enterprises, and the necessity to develop information and awareness in the population of researchers wherever they are, constitute the main factors which contribute to placing intellectual property rights on the management agenda priority list in the context of the increasing impact of immaterial investment in the creation of wealth. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.