Protecting Your Business’s Intellectual Property
For many business owners and entrepreneurs, protecting their enterprise’s intellectual property (IP) is an afterthought. They are usually too busy developing products, attracting new customers, and managing other aspects of their business to talk with an intellectual property lawyer about protecting intangible assets.
Unfortunately, failing to protect your business’s intellectual property can have some disastrous effects further down the line. Failure to safeguard IP may mean that your business’s trademark is used by a competitor or your unpatented products are cloned by another company. Unless you have taken steps to protect your IP, you may have limited recourse available.
In this article, I’ll share some background information on the types of intellectual property that your business should protect. I’ll also identify the main structures that are available for protecting intellectual property and how an intellectual property lawyer can help you protect your IP.
What is Intellectual Property?
Intellectual property refers to “creations of the mind”. This includes brand names, recipes, inventions, product designs, songs, illustrations, photographs, and other artistic creations. To be considered intellectual property, a creation must be something new and original.
Intellectual property (IP) law is designed to protect the rights of people who own intangible assets like the ones listed above. It allows businesses or individuals to earn recognition or financial rewards from the items that they invented or created.
An intellectual property lawyer helps clients identify any important intellectual property relating to their business and to take steps to protect these important assets.
Mechanisms for Protecting Intellectual Property
There are four most commonly used methods for protecting intellectual property — Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets.
Patents
A patent grants the inventor of a product a complete monopoly on the use and reproduction of that invention. Patents last for up to 20 years from the date of filing. They are an excellent tool for maintaining control over inventions and obtaining a competitive advantage in the market. Care must be taken to apply for patents before bringing an invention to market or divulging details of the product publicly because it may invalidate your ability to obtain a patent.
There are three types of patents available:
1. Utility patents
May be granted to individuals who invent or discover a new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof;
2. Design patents
May be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and
3. Plant patents
May be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.
Trademarks
A trademark is a name, word, device, or symbol that is used to indicate the source of a product and distinguish it from other products. Trademarks allow a business to protect their business name, product name, logos and other distinguishable brands — preventing competitors in the same space from using them. Having your business’s brands trademarked is essential for protecting the value of the business. Trademarks do not have an expiration date and will remain valid as long as the business continues operating.
Copyrights
Copyright protects the rights of authors of creative and intellectual works. It gives them control over how their works are reproduced and published. Businesses can use copyright to protect their software, music, videos, artworks, manuscripts, manuals, training programs, and other original creations.
Trade Secrets
Trade Secrets are secret devices or techniques that are used by your business to create a product. This includes recipes, formulas, manufacturing processes, tools, automation systems, patterns, algorithms, and technological know-how. It is important that people outside of your organization do not learn your trade secrets as it may jeopardize your business’ competitive advantage or uniqueness in the market.
Consulting with an Intellectual Property Lawyer
The only way you can ensure that your business’s intellectual property is adequately protected is by working with an intellectual property lawyer. They will identify the intellectual property owned by your business before taking steps to ensure you maintain complete control over it.
Intellectual property lawyers can also help you identify issues that might affect your business’s intellectual property, including:
? Improving employee agreements so they contain non-disclosure agreements relating to intellectual property.
? Ensuring employee and contractor agreements give ownership over any newly created intellectual property to your business.
? Ensuring that intellectual property is being adequately protected as it is being developed.
The second component of protecting your business’s intellectual property is the enforcement of intellectual property rights. An intellectual property lawyer will help you develop procedures for identifying intellectual property breaches and pursuing legal action. This will help you crack down on other businesses and individuals that are illegally using your IP.
The importance of protecting your intellectual property cannot be overstated. It is an integral part of your business and important for maintaining a competitive advantage in the market place. Developing a strategy for protecting IP early on will ensure that your business remains successful into the future.
Thanks for reading Protecting Your Business’s Intellectual Property. If you are interested in learning more about the intellectual property or hiring an intellectual property lawyer, contact Stanton IP Law Firm at www.stantoniplaw.com or call us at 877.677.9913