Marketing innovations are the lifeblood of any business that wants to stand out from the competition and attract more customers. But how do you protect your creative ideas and strategies from being copied, stolen, or diluted by others? In this article, you'll learn some tips and best practices to safeguard your marketing innovations and maintain your competitive edge.
The first step to protect your marketing innovations is to understand what intellectual property (IP) rights you have and how to enforce them. IP rights are the legal rights that protect your original creations, such as trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets. Depending on the type of IP, you may need to register it, use it, or keep it confidential to maintain your ownership and prevent others from using it without your permission or compensation. You should also monitor the market and the internet for any potential infringements and take action if necessary.
A patent is essentially a right granted by the country’s government to assure and fend off other companies from manufacturing, selling or using a business’ apparatus, design or software. The assurance can be achieved by filing an application with the Patent and Trademark Office of the country. The patent is issued after verifying its ingenuity. The process takes approximately two years. Once the patent is issued, you can prosecute or prevent others from copying your invention. While the company awaits the patent, it can use the “patent pending” tag on promotional materials such as flyers and advertisements to convey the exclusivity of its products.
In the United States, the first step is to copyright everything written that is produced. Logos, symbols, taglines and unique descriptors can be trademarked. Without these two things regarding intellectual property, there is no way to protect its use. If intellectual property is the foundation of the organization, engage an intellectual property attorney to ascertain that everything legally possible has been done to protect the work. Those approaches provide the ability to bring a lawsuit if the intellectual property is used without authorization.
The second step to protect your marketing innovations is to use contracts and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with anyone who has access to your confidential information, such as employees, contractors, partners, or clients. Contracts and NDAs are legal documents that define the scope, terms, and obligations of the parties involved in a business relationship and specify what information is considered confidential and how it should be handled. By using contracts and NDAs, you can reduce the risk of unauthorized disclosure, misuse, or theft of your marketing innovations and have legal recourse in case of breach.
A copyright can impede the duplication of any writing, artwork and computer program. The copyright for creation exists as soon as it’s created. However, if the work is disclosed in the public arena without proper notice – the symbol ?, the year it was publicized, the name of the owner, and the ownership can be forfeited. Pre or post-publication, copyright can be federally registered by applying to the Copyright Office. The copyright laws protect books, pamphlets or any form of conventional texts and artwork as well.
Contracts and non disclosures are a good start, but any organization producing intellectual property also needs a "not to compete" agreement with any contractors or employees producing their material. Without that employees and contracts can take the material, modify is slightly and call it their own, working independently of the organization.
The third step to protect your marketing innovations is to implement security measures to prevent unauthorized access, loss, or damage to your digital and physical assets. Security measures include using encryption, passwords, firewalls, antivirus, backups, and cloud services to protect your data and devices; locking your files, cabinets, and offices to secure your documents and materials; and training your staff on how to handle sensitive information and report any suspicious activity or incident. By implementing security measures, you can enhance your reputation, trust, and compliance and avoid costly and damaging consequences.
It is always helpful to be aware of the protective law meant to safeguard your goods and services, known as “trade dress & unfair competition law”. “Trade dress” here implies the distinctive way products are “dressed” – packaging, labels and colours. This law henceforth shields the product against unauthorized copying of design and ornamentation. Designs that fail to gain protection via trademark are sometimes encompassed by this law.
All the security measures mentioned should be taken and in addition, access to very sensitive and confidential materials should be limited. Secure backups of everything should be kept off the premises and computer security is imperative to protect valuable materials from being hacked.
The fourth step to protect your marketing innovations is to innovate continuously and stay ahead of the curve. Marketing innovations are not static or permanent; they are dynamic and evolving. You should always monitor the market trends, customer needs, and competitor actions and adapt your marketing innovations accordingly. You should also test, measure, and improve your marketing innovations and seek feedback from your target audience and stakeholders. By innovating continuously, you can maintain your relevance, differentiation, and value proposition and create loyal and satisfied customers.
Trade secrets refer to those documents and information that the company keeps confidential from outsiders. The information is not disclosed during sale or advertisement of the products or services. Blueprints, recipes and customer lists belong to this category. Maintaining this secrecy is essential as protecting a company’s trade secret can prevent unlawful disclosure, acquisition, and use of the company’s trade secret by other companies.
The fifth step to protect your marketing innovations is to collaborate strategically with others who can add value to your marketing efforts. Collaboration can help you leverage the skills, resources, and networks of other professionals, organizations, or influencers who share your vision, goals, and values. Collaboration can also help you generate new ideas, insights, and opportunities and expand your reach and impact. However, collaboration also involves risks, such as conflicts, misunderstandings, or exploitation. Therefore, you should choose your collaborators carefully, communicate clearly, and establish mutual trust and respect.
The sixth step to protect your marketing innovations is to learn from others who have successfully protected their marketing innovations or faced challenges or failures. Learning from others can help you gain valuable knowledge, insights, and inspiration and avoid common mistakes or pitfalls. You can learn from others by reading books, articles, blogs, or case studies; watching videos, podcasts, or webinars; attending events, workshops, or courses; or joining communities, groups, or networks. By learning from others, you can enhance your skills, confidence, and creativity and discover new ways to protect your marketing innovations.
Yes, "marketing innovations" can give you an edge in a competitive market. However, consider that great ideas are often inspired by other great ideas. Eventually, your "innovations" will get out of your company's bubble and who knows? Maybe something greater will come from sharing that information.