To avoid early missteps in protecting valuable business intellectual property, every entrepreneur should regularly ask himself or herself the following questions about their intangible assets.
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1. What IP does my business currently own?
Take an accounting of all trademarks, inventions, trade secrets, confidential information, or other proprietary information currently owned. For a quick & easy primer on the various types of intellectual property and what legal protections may be available, a brief summary can be found here.
If you are new or small business, start with a simple spreadsheet that tracks the type, status, & description of all IP owned, and update the spreadsheet regularly with details such as: (1) the date any pending applications or registrations were filed, (2) the date that responses to any official correspondence are due (for example to the USPTO), and (3) the date any applications/registrations expire or need to be renewed.
Keep in mind that you may own the IP personally if you are an early stage company (or simply a sole proprietorship). You may consider assigning any patent or trademark applications/registrations from you personally to the company to add valuable assets to the company (or license them if you would prefer to keep title).
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2. Is my current IP adequately protected?
Do consider your business name, product name, or slogan to be valuable assets? (If so,
have you filed any federal trademark registrations?)
Do you have customer, vendor, or partner lists that you’d like to keep confidential? Do you have any sensitive business or marketing plans? (If so, have you signed confidentiality agreements before sharing that information with any third party?)
Is your product based on an invention? (If so, have you filed for patent protection?)
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3. Could my business/products be infringing on anybody else's IP?
Any time you launch a new business or new product for your existing business, you should conduct at least a preliminary search and review of third party intellectual property rights. This is often referred to in the legal world as a freedom to operate (“FTO”).
For example, before you select your company name, do a basic trademark search on USPTO.gov as well as Google® for your proposed name, similar key words, and various phonetic spellings.
If you sell technology or any complex or technical products, you may want to conduct a search for patents or pending patent applications in your area of technology on USPTO.gov as well as Google® Patents. Learn more about risks & liabilities of infringing another’s patent HERE.
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4. What are my future plans for maintaining my current IP and developing new IP?
Do you have a pipeline of future products that you plan to implement over time? If any of the information around product development or business strategy is confidential, be sure to take steps to protect it as such.
If you have any inventions or products under development, be sure not to share any information with a third party without talking to a patent attorney. If you are still tweaking the design or data, you may consider filing a provisional patent application which allows you to confidentially work on the invention and prepare a robust patent application within one year to benefit from the original priority date.
Put systems in place to keep track of your existing IP to ensure that nothing inadvertently expires without your knowledge.
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Kae Gruner, Founder, Start Up Heart Up
Patent lawyer, deal-maker, & lover of ideas, Kae founded Start Up Heart Up with the goal to empower everyday entrepreneurs. Whether building a new business or starting a side hustle, Kae’s expertise in intellectual property and business law can help you bring any dream business from idea to launch.