Start up companies especially are being urged to register their intellectual property.

Latest figures show there are now more than half a million businesses in New Zealand, up more than 14 percent compared to a decade ago.

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand is warning companies and individuals they risk losing millions of dollar unless they protect their intellectual property.

Spokeswoman Karen McWilliams said businesses must ensure they register their inventions before going public with it.

"If you go and start showing people saying, 'this is what I've got' and putting it out there on the internet and trying to raise money in that way, it may result in you not being able to register your new product because its now been publicly shown."

McWilliams said in order to ensure that businesses maximise the benefits of their innovative conceptions, ideas and designs, it's vital to understand the best way to protect and manage intellectual property.

"For a lot of businesses its put into the too hard basket and they don't really think about how they can actually utilise IP to grow value for their business, but also make sure that they're not missing out on things that are developed in their organisations."