Most Oxford businesses believe that having exclusive rights on a product is an important sales strategy.
But almost a third have done nothing to protect any of their brand names by registering them as trademarks, according to a report from intellectual property lawyers Marks & Clerk, which has an office in the Oxford Business Park.
While the majority have registered brands as trademarks, just 24 per cent are now highlighting their products' patent protection.
Oxford-based Marks & Clerk partner Robert Lind said: "The prime function of patents is to prevent competitors from exploiting the protected products systems or processes.
"But businesses which are not exploiting patents for marketing purposes are missing an opportunity.
"Products where the patent protection is actively marketed to the consumer, command a higher margin.
"Companies should consider ways to gain maximum benefit from intellectual property protection."
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