Good idea to protect your ideas

Imitation may be a form of flattery, but most entrepreneurs don’t take it well when a competitor tries to duplicate their product or service.

That’s why it pays to be a little paranoid when it comes to protecting a company’s intellectual property, experts say.

"In this day and age, anyone who comes in your plant you’ve got to be suspect of. You can’t leave stuff lying around, like ingredient sheets," said Ryan Howard, president of We Love Soy Inc., a Lombard company that makes a premium non-dairy frozen dessert called Temptation.

Howard has taken pains to keep the recipe and process instructions a secret. Only three other people know how Temptation is made, he said, "and we have a blood pact" not to divulge the secrets to anyone.

By Ann Meyer
Special to the Tribune

Full Story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0609110139sep11,1,7669706.story?coll=chi-business-hed