Know-how is the only class of intellectual property whose value depends on nobody knowing it. A formulation, a process regulation, a proprietary method of commissioning equipment — none of it is patented or registered anywhere, yet it can be worth more than the production line it runs on.
Kanzas values know-how and trade secrets for corporate clients worldwide. The engagement itself is built around confidentiality: identification is performed on the documents that record the know-how and its protection regime, an NDA is signed where required, and the report describes the subject in anonymized form — the substance of the secret is never disclosed through the valuation.
When You Need a Know-How Valuation
- contribution in kind — capitalizing a founder's technology as charter (share) capital;
- licensing and franchising — transferring a technology or business model for royalties;
- sale of a business or an investment round — know-how as part of the deal value;
- IFRS financial reporting — fair value of intangibles for audit purposes;
- litigation — trade secret misappropriation, damages and lost profits claims;
- group restructuring — allocating technology assets between group companies.
Methodology: Pricing an Advantage
The income approach leads. The profit-premium method capitalizes the measurable advantage the know-how delivers — lower production cost, higher yield, lower reject rate; where the know-how is transferred under licenses or franchise agreements, the relief-from-royalty method applies, with royalty evidence sourced from international databases by product group. The cost approach is the default for developments with no track record of use. The market approach is rarely workable here: transactions in trade secrets are, by the nature of the asset, private.
What moves the number: how clearly the advantage shows up in production data, whether the knowledge is formalized in documents rather than held in key employees' heads, the robustness of the confidentiality regime, how hard the technology is to reverse-engineer, and how quickly the solution becomes obsolete.
Our Experience
Anonymized mandates include the valuation of know-how of fuel and energy sector companies — hydrocarbon extraction and pipeline transportation technologies. Many of our clients operate across international markets; we accept engagements from any country, work on an IVS-consistent basis, and deliver English-language reports.
Questions and answers
Do we have to disclose the substance of our trade secret? No. Identification is performed on the documents recording the know-how and its protection regime; an NDA is signed where required, and the report describes the subject without revealing the content of the solutions.
Can know-how be contributed to a company's capital? Yes — it is one of the most common scenarios: an independent valuation of the property rights becomes the basis for forming the charter capital.
Do you support trade secret damages claims? Yes. We quantify damages and lost profits arising from misappropriation or unlawful disclosure, on an evidence base a court can test.
How much does a know-how valuation cost? We agree a fixed fee and timeline after reviewing the object's documentation and the purpose of the valuation — before the engagement letter is signed.
We work with international clients in writing: email us at [email protected] or message us on Telegram, Viber or WhatsApp — confidentiality is maintained from the first contact.
Related services: Intellectual Property and Intangible Asset Valuation · Patent and Invention Valuation · Trademark and Brand Valuation · Website and Software Valuation · Copyright and Related Rights Valuation
Related services: Lost Profits Valuation · Transfer Pricing · Corporate Rights Valuation
