HAMPSHIRE companies could be sitting on a fortune in unexploited intellectual property, according to Southampton law firm Clarke Willmott.

And today, World Intellectual Property Day, could be the ideal opportunity to examine what they have, says Peter Livingstone, a partner and member of the firm's seven-lawyer IP Group.

He said: "It has been said that ideas are expensive to make but cheap to copy, and this is a warning that industries in the region should take to heart. It is this fact which is at the centre of World Intellectual Property Day, the focus of an international campaign which aims to encourage and protect creativity and innovation in business and industry."

The campaign is fronted by Oscar-winning creations of Aardman Animation, Wallace and Gromit, pictured, who are renowned for off-the-wall inventions like those typified in the hit film The Wrong Trousers.

Mr Livingstone added: "Many companies are failing to protect their IP rights, and with rapid advancements in the internet and other technologies, intellectual property can easily be accessed, borrowed or stolen. If you ran a company and you had a valuable piece of equipment, you wouldn't leave it out in the car park for someone to steal. And yet some firms are doing just this with their IP by failing to make sure that it is properly protected."