Protecting Intellectual Property

Intellectual property (IP) can be a significant asset that increases your business's value. Failing to protect IP can leave you with no recourse if a competitor or former key employee appropriates methods or processes you've developed.

What is Intellectual Property?

In general terms, intellectual property is any product or service you’ve created that the law protects from unauthorized use by others. Businesses can own these intangible assets in the form of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, and they can be bought and sold just like tangible assets.

Help with Safeguarding IP

Any information you don’t want others to know can be protected. An intellectual property attorney can advise you on the protections you may need to help prevent competitors from using your IP. These could include the following:

Copyrights protect software, graphics, video/sound recordings, databases, books, and blog articles.

Trademarks protect things that identify your brand, including words, phrases, symbols, designs, or a combination. Logos, colors, names, taglines, and slogans all can be trademarked.

Trade Secrets include any confidential information that give a business a competitive advantage, such as distribution or sales methods, strategies, production processes, and even lists of vendors and clients.

Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana.
- Bill Gates

Add IP to Your Business Plan

Protecting your business’s intellectual property should be an integral part of your business plan. Include money in your budget to pay for securing your IP rights. As part of your plan, ensure that key employees, contractors, and business partners are bound by non-disclosure agreements.

Insurance Protection

Your business’s general liability insurance coverage may offer limited protection in the event of litigation. However, you may want to purchase specialized intellectual property insurance that covers the legal cost of pursuing infringement or theft of IP. There are two basic types:

• Infringement defense covers policyholders for infringement claims against them.

• Abatement enforcement coverage gives IP owners the financial resources to enforce their IP rights and pursue infringement claims.

Intellectual property that's well defended can ensure that your business will be favorably valued when you're ready to sell.