HOW TO BUILD AN IP PORTFOLIO FOR YOUR BUSINESS/COMPANY

Just imagine sitting across a table with potential investors excitedly telling them about your efficient manufacturing processes, your exciting marketing videos, your brand and even unrecognizable logo until they ask if you have the proper registrations in place.

??????

Then you just smile and say "no, I don't think it matters or make any difference. The most important thing is that I have a company with efficient manufacturing process to sell....."

If you do that, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.

This shows that you don't even value the Intellectual Properties of your company. Which is very bad for business.

Apart from not registering the most valuable parts of your business, your company loses a ton of value. So it is important that you start building an Intellectual Property (IP) Portfolio.

What is an Intellectual Property (IP) Portfolio?

An intellectual property portfolio is a combination of all the Intellectual Property word for all the registrations you have on your company. It is a mix of patents, trademarks, and copyrights, depending on what, exactly, you’re registering.

However, make sure that whatever you are registering is part of the valuable parts of your business or your company. This will protect those parts from copycats or even IP thieves.

This is how you can build an IP portfolio for your business/company:

1. Identify the valuable assets of your business. These could be logo, symbols, marks, an invention, a book, marketing strategy etc.
2. Register these assets: This could be as a Trademark, a Patent, a Copyright or Execute an NDA to protect your trade secrets.
3. Document these Intellectual Properties: You can document their value in a book or any recording device. These should be updated whenever it is necessary.
4. Renewal before due date: Ensure that the registration of the IPs are renewed even before the due date to avoid losing the rights to them.
5. Enforcement against infringement: Ensure that all infringement are reported and proper legal actions are taken against infringers.
6. Increase the value of the assets by licensing and even franchising. Also ensure that these assets are used for marketing and branding where necessary.
7. Keep building: Continuing creating valuable intellectual assets and building them.

Note that an intellectual property portfolio is not only restricted to bigger companies. Infact, If you are a one-person business, it is much easier to create and track new Intellectual assets and register it accordingly.

You should start building your IP portfolio now regardless of the size of your company.

Building an IP portfolio would definitely increase the value of your company.

This is because when it comes to the time to sell, any buyer will be able to look at your IP portfolio as part of the concrete evidence of your value and they would be secured in the knowledge that they will likely make money off the company.

They know that no competitors will legally be able to swoop in and steal your trade secrets without legal actions. And also, no competitors can accuse your company of copyright infringement if you have drawers full of properly registered copyrights.

It may seem like a long process but it pays at the end.

I hope you find this informative as usual.

If you have any comments, don't hesitate to drop it in the comment section.

My name is Omolayo Olorunsola, I am a business lawyer with expertise in assisting start-ups and Business owners register a legally structure entity, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirement, and protecting business intellectual properties.

Do you want to start a legally structured business? Send me a direct message on 07030446925.