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Protecting Your Intellectual Property
If you are a small business owner
with an idea, an invention or a new product, you need
to decide whether or not to create a proactive intellectual
property strategy.
What is Intellectual Property? It
is any creation of the mind and includes literary and
artistic work, inventions as well as symbols, names
and images. It also includes any designs you use in
conducting your business.
There are two categories of Intellectual
Property. The first, Industrial Property, includes industrial
designs (and geographic source designations), inventions
(patents) and trademarks.
The types of Trademarks are: Trademark,
Service Mark, Collective Mark, Collective Membership
Mark, and Certification Mark.
The second category is Copyright which
includes literary and artistic works. Copyright protects
the authors of novels, poetry, films and plays and composers
of musical works. However, copyright also protects artists
of paintings or drawings, photographers, even sculptors
or architects who have designed specific buildings.
Protection of Copyright is also extended to performing
artists regarding their performances and producers of
television and radio programs.
When Should You Think About Protecting
Your IP Rights?
Intellectual Property has become big
business -- and protecting yours can add considerable
value to your company somewhere down the road.
You should think about applying for
the appropriate protections if...
*you're even considering going global
at some point
*if you will be manufacturing your products
in another country
*if your business name, tagline, logo
or other work is a key component of your business, your
brand or your operational strategy
*if your product is something that is
easily pirated and could be manufactured in countries
that are known for pirating
Many business owners think they should
wait until their business is established and they know
that it's going to succeed before deciding to go ahead
with IP protection. However, according to the top IP
attorneys, that's a mistake that can be more costly
in the long run. It's easier and cheaper to protect
your rights in the beginning than it is to be involved
in a lengthy and expensive court case, trying to reclaim
what is yours, or defend against an infringement claim.
Another reason many business owners
wait is because international IP laws are often unclear,
and the laws themselves change often. And there are
differences in trademark systems in the U.S. and other
countries.
In the U.S., the system is based on use, not registration,
but many other countries have registration-based systems.
However, thanks to the Madrid Protocol,
the process of protecting trademarks has been streamlined
and can save you up to 65% of the filing costs.
Before the Madrid Protocol, you were
required to file separate applications for each country.
Now, you can file for many with one application.
Another problem faced by entrepreneurs
is that there is a time limit -- 12 months in fact,
to file for international IP rights after applying for
a trademark or patent in the U.S.
If you want to protect your Intellectual
Property, and increase the long-term value of your business,
consult a reputable IP attorney now. Don't wait until
it's too late.
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