Signal:
You wouldn’t open your office for business and then go home without locking up, right? That’s essentially what you’re doing if you don’t secure your business ideas by taking the steps to protect your trademarks, trade secrets and product design and packaging.
Entrepreneurs should start thinking about protecting their intellectual property earlier than most. Small businesses tend to delay this step because of the cost, but if you haven’t applied for copyrights or patents, or registered your trade name and trademark or protected your trade secrets, you may have trouble making your case in court. Entrepreneurs should take their business plans to an experienced intellectual property attorney at the startup. Spending money upfront for legal help can save you from expense later by giving you strong trademark or copyright rights which can deter competitors from infringing.
Once you’ve figured out what’s worth protecting, you have to decide how you’ll protect it and that isn’t always obvious. Traditionally, patents prohibit others from copying new devices and processes, while copyrights do the same for creative endeavors like books, music or software. But in many cases, the categories overlap. Likewise, trademark law now extends to distinctive elements like a product’s color and shape. Trade dress law concerns how a product is packaged and advertised.
To get your intellectual property ducks in a row, answer these questions…
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