Great attention has been paid in recent years to the importance of intellectual property to successful R&D and commercialization of technology. The issues raised have included the appropriate role and expense of IP in the R&D and commercialization environments, the impact of intellectual property on companies' freedom to use technology in new products and the role of intellectual property in extracting maximum value from R&D by providing alternative commercialization paths including licensing, business spin offs, joint ventures and packaging the innovative business for sale to another party. Nowhere has this interest been keener than in the rapidly expanding and commercially unpredictable area of nanomaterials. This paper will provide a basic understanding of the key intellectual property issues most important to nano-materials, including practical advice for managers and R&D personnel on efficiently creating intellectual property processes and policies appropriate to companies in the nano-materials business.