Here are the top 5 intellectual property audit mistakes I have seen lately:

1. Getting the wrong people to do it – usually external attorneys with little practical, commercial experience of what is required.  (ideally it should be conducted in-house, with some help as needed by people who have done a lot of them, in a practical way.)
2. Focussing on the wrong issues – its so much more than a register of patents and trade marks plus your invention disclosure procedure.
3. No buy-in.  The entire organisation should be involved and be energised and motivated to contribute.  (Marketing and sales are in fact great places to investigate IP practices.)
4. Too much focus on protecting new IP and too little on exploiting or killing what you have.
5. No overall strategy for change in light of the results, and worse still, poor or no implementation / execution.  (ie – the most important part is poorly done, if at all.)