You may claim ownership of your company’s brand, technology, creative works, logo, catchphrases, trade dress, and any other tangible manifestation of the concepts that fuel your company’s growth through intellectual property.
Intellectual property is essential to your organization at all levels. Having the appropriate counsel and understanding to protect the elements that make your firm distinctive, from your first business plan to trademarks, patents, and copyright is crucial to your success.
What Is the Intellectual Property-Business Connection?
Apart from the real people that operate your company, everything significant has some connection to intellectual property. You might argue that the entire body of intellectual property that comprises and relates to your ideas, methods, products, and services makes up your company.
Intellectual property must have a commercial purpose and be capable of being protected by laws governing patents, copyright, trade or service marks, or trade secrets. Brand names, literary works, artistic creations, scientific discoveries, mathematical calculations, tangible innovations, written information, registered design work, and music are specific types of IP.
Why Is Intellectual Property Important to my Business?
The secret to fostering market growth and competitiveness is intellectual property. It serves as the lifeblood and soul of your business. Your organization depends more on communicating and using your ideas than on its tangible assets.
They not only safeguard these assets but also assist you in:
- Build brand identity.
- Analyze information from the IP of other companies to gain a competitive edge.
- Increase your revenue stream from limiting or licensing competition to use your IP.
- Increase the commercial value of your company.
- Increase market access.
- Gain financing and venture capital.
- Increase the value of your brand.
- Create strong business partnerships.
- Protect your freedom to operate and reduce infringement risks.
- Preserve geographic market segmentation by restricting exports and imports.
What are some of the most challenging IP issues that employers and company owners must resolve?
Entrepreneurs frequently struggle with the problem of not knowing how much IP protection is necessary. Is copyright sufficient? Should I pay to get a trademark registered? Do I need to patent this?
Any creative work you produce is automatically assigned copyright. However, if you can demonstrate that your trademark is registered, it makes a considerably stronger statement about your company. Legally speaking, determining whether or not to register a trademark is the best course of action to stop third parties from misusing your brand or falsely claiming it as their own.
Having Your Copyright Infringed Online. Since the advent of the internet, it has been straightforward to duplicate and reproduce the work of others. It can sometimes be challenging to maintain track of any violations. The main problem with material copied without permission online is that there is frequently nothing that can be done about it. It is customary to write to the offender and request that they remove the content. Beyond this, there isn’t much you can do unless you decide to file a lawsuit.
Legal action is generally not advised for minor internet infractions since the expense would greatly outweigh the potential gain. Legal action is only recommended where the copycat has profited financially from doing so and has unfairly benefited. For instance, if someone uses your company name to sell comparable products or services online. You ought to be entitled to the money that the violator of your copyright earned from exploiting your work in this situation.
Similar Trademarks Already Registered. The discovery that a trademark they want to register already exists and is identical to it is another frequent problem for business owners. The easiest way to avoid this problem is to register your trademark as soon as possible to either;
- stop others from doing the same or
- find out early on if a comparable mark already exists so that you can think about changing yours.
If a brand is similar to yours but has been registered for a different class of goods and has a distinctly different appearance from yours, it may not always be an obstacle. If this is the case, an IP attorney can inform you of the possibility of registering your brand. The next step may be to file for the mark’s removal if it appears doubtful that it will be accepted. Generally speaking, there are three grounds for asking to have the mark removed:
- The owner had not used the trademark for three consecutive years;
- The owner had not used the trademark in good faith;
- The owner did not have any intention of using the trademark.
Registering your trademark as soon as you develop it is advised since requesting its erasure can be a drawn-out and challenging procedure.
Concluding…
Intellectual property (IP) issues maybe intimidating for business owners. In many cases, preventing IP infringement requires planning and foresight, such as registering your brand before someone else. Should I assess the benefits and costs if I want to sue for copyright infringement? Should I request the cancellation of an old trademark? If unsure, the best line of action is to speak with an IP lawyer.