Follow tips to protect your IP

For many companies today, the value of their intellectual property exceeds the total value of all other tangible assets.

by Gary Williams – Brigham Young University

Intellectual property
(IP) includes patents, copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks as well as other intangibles.
A quick review of IP will be helpful:

Patent. This provides the right to exclude others from making, using or selling your invention. Generally, a patent is good from the date it
issues until 20 years from the date of application filing.

Copyright. This protects "works of authorship" (including software). However, only the "expression" is protected, not the ideas,
processes, facts or information. Duration of protection is the life of the author plus 70 years; for a corporation, 95 years from the date of first
publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever is shorter.

Trade secret. This protects confidential, competitive information. Protection lasts so long as the information remains confidential and is of
value.

Trademark. This protects brand and goodwill. It stops others from using confusingly similar marks. A trademark is good as long as steps
are taken to police its use and it is not abandoned.

The dilemma for most of us is what to do to protect our IP. We know how to protect inventory. If we keep it in a secure location, limit
outside access and insure it against loss, we have mitigated our risks. Following are a few ideas on how to protect your IP:

For patents, consult a good patent attorney. As a small company or startup, if
you do not have the time and money to invest in a patent application, consider
filing a provisional patent application. The cost is minimal, and it will protect
your invention for one year, giving you time to file a formal application before the
end of that year. Get information from http://www.uspto.gov. With patents, time is of
the essence. A delay in filing can result in a loss of patent rights.

Start immediately including a copyright notice on your important company
documents and information. Consider registering the copyrights to your most
valuable works of authorship, especially those that are distributed to others.
Remember, you will not be able to sue for copyright infringement without a
registration. When you first file a copyright application, ask your attorney to
show you how it is done or go to http://www.loc.gov/copyright. If you have someone
on your staff who can be trained, you might be able to file your own
applications in the future.

To protect your trade secrets, create a few commonsense policies on how
confidential information should be handled, and then follow through with
enforcement. Communicate often to your employees the importance of
protecting your customer lists, research and development ideas and marketing
plans. Many companies ask guests to sign in at the front desk before they are
allowed to enter the office. Look at your own situation and implement steps
that make sense for you.

If you have a valuable trademark or service mark, consider registering it with the
Patent and Trademark Office. You will spend considerable sums of money over
time on your trademark in advertising dollars, signage, letterhead and other
items. For a relatively few dollars, you can own and protect that investment. In
addition, before adopting a new mark, you should have a trademark/service
mark search conducted to see what others have done. This can protect you
from infringing on someone else’s property, a mistake that can be costly and
disruptive.

Make sure that you use written contracts with employees and independent
contractors to ensure that you own the intellectual property you are paying
them to create.

Protecting your IP is every bit as necessary as protecting your tangible assets. For many of us, it may be ensuring the survival of our
enterprise.

Gary Williams, a former CEO of a high tech firm, is affiliated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. He can be contacted via e-mail at
[email protected].

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