When you are embarking on a new business, are developing a new invention, or are building your brand as a writer, artist, or designer, your intellectual property is your most essential asset. It’s imperative to protect your IP early on. While navigating the world of IP law can be daunting, there are key steps you can take to protect your IP and solidify ownership of your ideas. If you are building a brand and need to protect your intellectual property, take these five key steps.
Maintain Secrecy and Organization
In the early stages of development, it is important to keep your ideas, prototypes, and work as private as possible until your IP is legally secured. Avoid joint ownership when possible and refrain from sharing ideas publicly. If working with others, have an attorney draft a confidentiality agreement. Be sure to have original documentation, plans, designs, and other materials organized and accessible to use as proof of ownership in the event of a breach of trust or IP theft. If your work is stored digitally, make sure to use strong password protection, encryption, and other technology safeguards.
Register Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents
As registration can take many months to complete, it’s important to take this action early. Copyrights protect your creative work, both tangible and intangible. Trademarks apply to any logos, slogans, symbols, designs and other brand and marketing identifiers. If you’re developing a new invention, you’ll need to determine the appropriate type of patent and secure it as soon as you’re able.
Secure Domain Names
To ensure that you have the correct branded internet presence, secure exact-match domain names for your brand or product. This can be costly, but is a valuable investment for effectively building your brand.
Build a Strong Social Media Presence
While this may seem counterintuitive, building a strong social media presence can be extremely useful when it comes to protecting your IP. Creation of pages and posts are clearly dated which can be useful in the event of counterfeiting, plagiarism, or other infringements. By creating a public association with your work, you strengthen your brand’s identity and solidify ownership in the public eye.
Invest in a Brand Protection Service
Counterfeiters can cause massive issues for brands, like damaging trust with investors, losing customers, and marring public perception. Brand protection services monitor the internet for improper use of your IP through sophisticated algorithms, keyword searches, and technologies like image recognition and machine learning. Investing in such a service can help you identify IP theft early, reducing harm to your brand.
Consult with an Intellectual Property Lawyer at Patterson Thuente IP
Starting and building a brand is an exciting experience, and with the right work it can be as safe as it is fulfilling. If you are embarking on a creative or business venture and need assistance securing your intellectual property, the attorneys at Patterson Thuente IP are here to help you navigate the process from start to finish. Contact us today: https://patterson20stg.wpengine.com/wp-contentwww.ptslaw.com/contact/