Protecting your Intellectual Property (IP) is designed to prevent anyone else from taking your idea or creation and profiting from it, unless they obtain your permission. Intellectual property rights are the rights you have to anything you create as a result of your original ideas. If your ideas and creations have economic value, you will want to protect your intellectual property.
Here is an ultimate guide to help you in protecting your intellectual property (IP) and get your IP strategy right.
Identify your Intellectual Property
Your new business may have a wealth of intellectual property. From the name on your door, to an innovative new process, there will be things that differentiate you from your competitors. As your business grows, so too will the importance of these intangible assets.
Learn Your IP Options
Learn about the different types of intellectual property and the advantages of each one. Patents protect inventions, design registration protects their look. A registered trade mark protects brand names, logos, original sounds and scents, and even aspects of packaging.
Keep A Record of Everything
For protecting your IP from theft or unwanted loss, you must record the progress made at regular intervals. Everything from the conception of your idea, the number of meetings conducted, when they were conducted, to the names of persons who were a part of those events, needs to be maintained. If you maintain an accurate copy of these events, this will work as a sound evidence giving you the ownership of your product or idea.
Learn More : 7 Benefits of Record Keeping for Business
Protect Your Idea or Brand by Registering It
Protect your idea using the IP system to register a patent, trade mark, design or plant breeder’s right (PBR). However, make sure you consider the risks and the benefits of registered and unregistered rights.
Keep It Confidential
Keep your idea confidential until it is protected. If you’re talking to others about your idea, use a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to prevent them from disclosing your idea without permission. Check out our Free! Format of a Confidentiality Agreement and a Template to Download for help preparing an NDA. If you are interested in obtaining a patent or design, you need to safeguard and maintain secrecy until you have filed your application.
You may determine that keeping your invention a secret is better than applying for a patent and having to disclose the invention’s details. Protection in this manner is known as a trade secret. There is no patent protection, and therefore no onus on the company to publicly disclose the recipe. Nor is there a limit of 20 years to its protection. Trade secrets work best where the product is difficult to reverse engineer or replicate, and the knowledge can be protected with confidentiality agreements.
Protect your Intellectual Property without delay
It’s mandatory to protect your IP because the delay of a single minute can lead to copying or stealing of your precious idea. So, be active and file for your Intellectual Property protection. Because, your competitors won’t lead a chance to outdo you in any aspect.
Be Cautious in Commercialization
Where practical, build a model of your invention to help prospective financial backers to visualize your smart idea and its market potential. However, do not let anyone see it without having a confidentiality agreement in place first.
Also, if you have an invention, be careful not to chase money in relation to that invention before lodging an application for patent protection. Commercial use or even an exhibition of the invention before you file a patent application may prevent you from receiving a patent.
Track Your Costs
Keep track of all your development and protection costs to help put a value on your IP and give you an idea of how profitable your venture needs to be to recover costs.
Learn More : Understanding Accounting for Capital Assets
Research Your Market
Research your potential market and understand the likely consumers, buyers, licensees, investors, manufacturers and distributors. This will help you work out your unit cost and should give you a basis to see if your product or service is competitive.
Search the patent, trade mark and design databases to ensure your ideas are new and to avoid infringing the rights of others. You should also search for new business opportunities and competitor activities.
Get Business Know-How
To successfully commercialize your idea, you need a variety of business skills. Get educated, and also take advantage of support groups such as inventors’ associations; your local business enterprise center; and government agencies for assistance.
Work Out a Commercialization Strategy
There are different ways to make money from IP. You can sell it, license it or make products yourself. It might be more profitable in some cases not to manufacture your idea yourself. You can seek professional advice before entering into contractual agreements with others.
Beware of Infringement
Keep an eye out for anyone who may infringe your IP. They can erode your market share and poor-quality imitations can quickly ruin your brand’s reputation. You might consider developing an infringement strategy and consider intellectual property insurance. There are sometimes factors which you can’t foresee, but you can be forewarned.
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