When growing a unique product, technology, or service, one must consider the appropriate steps to protect the intellectual property that has been have developed. The company’s founders have a stake in ensuring that the company protects its intellectual property and avoids infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties. The following are some of the common protective measures undertaken by business start-ups:
Patents
Patents are the best protection available for an original product. A patent gives its inventor the right to prevent others from making, using, or selling the patented subjected matter described in words in the patent’s claims. The key issues in determining whether a patent is obtainable are: (1) Only the concrete embodiment of an idea, formula, and so on is patentable, (2) the invention must be new or novel, (3) the invention must not have been patented or described in a printed publication previously, and (4) the invention must have some useful purpose. Generally, a patent attorney is hired to draw up the patent application.
Copyrights
Copyrights cover original works of authorship, such as art, advertising copy, books, articles, music, movies, software, etc. The copyright gives the owner the exclusive right to make copies of the work and to prepare derivative works based on the work.
Trademarks
A trademark protects the symbolic value of a word, name, symbol, or device used to identify or distinguish its good from those of others. Some well-known trademarks include the Nike trademark, the Louis Vuitton trademark, and the Apple trademark. One can obtain rights to a trademark by actually using the mark in commerce. You don’t need to register the mark to get rights to it, but federal registration does offer some advantages.
Service marks
Service marks resemble trademarks and are used to identify services.
Trade Secrets
A trade secret right allows the owner of the right to take action against anyone who breaches an agreement or confidential relationship or who steals or uses other improper means to obtain secret information. Trade secrets can range from computer programs to customer lists to the formula for Coca-Cola.
Confidentiality Agreements
These are also referred to as Non-Disclosure Agreements or NDAs. The purpose of the agreement is to allow the holder of confidential information (such as a product or business idea) to share it with a third party. But then the third party is obligated to keep the information confidential and not use it whatsoever, unless allowed by the holder of the information.
Confidentiality and Assignment Agreement for Employees
Every employee should be required to sign such an agreement. It accomplishes several purposes. First, it obligates the employee to keep confidential the proprietary information of the business, both during employment and after employment. Second, it ensures any inventions, ideas, products, or services developed by the employee during the term of employment and related to the business belong to the company and not the employee.
