COMMUNICATED CONTENT – In a world where millions of businesses are started every year, but only a decimal percentage will reach unicorn status, good ideas are precious assets. A great idea can make the difference between success and failure. And once hit upon, these must be safely guarded against competitors. Fortunately, several measures can be taken to protect that winner concept, and new businesses must not overlook the secrecy of their intellectual property. Ideas can be worth millions of dollars, which means every last security measure is absolutely vital.
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Research
Before any actions are taken that could potentially expose your idea and make it known to competitors, careful and thorough research should be carried out. The law does not protect ideas without the correct documentation, so thoughts, plans, and strategies should remain strictly confidential.
Carefully research the individuals and organizations you intend to work with to see if they have a positive track record and can be trusted. When it comes to valuable ideas, making sure your partners are honest and reliable is essential. Also, research the kind of protection you will need, in terms of legal records and agreements, copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Each of these has a different application, so be sure to have the correct documents and agreements in place.
Intellectual property audit
Intellectual property includes all inventions or creations of the mind, such as artwork, products, design, names, symbols, and images. It could consist of anything that sets your business apart from your competitors. This should all be documented, along with all research notes, diary notes, prototypes, emails, and minutes from meetings. As businesses grow or innovations are created, thorough records should be kept to account for intellectual property theft.
Most governments offer guidance on the treatment and protection of intellectual property, as well as how to take legal action when intellectual property rights are breached.
Legal agreements
In most situations, legal documents are best obtained with the help of the legal council. These could include:
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which obligates anyone you work with to confidentiality. This may be a mutual agreement between two parties, or simply a one-way agreement imposed on contractors or partners, that legally binds them to not disclosing information.
Similar to an NDA, a non-compete agreement is signed by organizations or individuals you work with. This agreement ensures they will not start a business that would compete against or threaten your business within an established area or field.
When hiring someone to develop a product that belongs to your business, it may be necessary to make clear that you own all improvements made. A work for hire agreement is legal evidence that these belong to you, though the party involved may need to be listed as co-inventor in your patent.
Copyright
Copyright laws automatically protect any work that is original and tangible. This means the idea must be your own and without precedent. It also must be physically expressed and not just conceptual. Copyright law protects the expression of an idea rather than the idea itself. Registering with a copyright office provides owners of work with a public record, which can ensure that infringement claims will be avoided. Copyrights are usually for a limited period, so they may need to be renewed.
Those who own copyright are also able to license the use of it to others. This can be achieved through a contractual agreement that states how the work can be used, and the costs of any changes. The owner can also sell copyrights, and they can be shown with the © symbol.
Patent
Patents can be used to protect the rights of anyone with an invention, the machine, or process that is new and original. Patents need to be obtained from government offices and are not automatically applied in the same way as copyright. They are required in the event of taking legal action against people who use your own products without permission.
A Patent application can be a long and expensive process. Firstly, applicants need to ensure that similar patents do not already exist, and the patent is available to license. Relevant information can be found at a local patent library, or by hiring a patent advisor.
Trademarks
Branding is everything in business. As a new system, process, or product grows in popularity and builds in reputation. Customers will come to associate this name with a certain uniqueness. Trademarks are a way of protecting that unique brand.
By registering a trademark, businesses will have exclusive rights to the business name or logo used for the business. Brands registered for trademark also need to be unique and original. Often businesses cannot hold exclusive rights to certain methods, but the brands may become synonymous with these methods. Trademarked brands can be shown by putting the ® symbol next to the name.
Though ideas do not mean everything in the success of a business, they can be extremely important. Given the abstract nature of the more conceptual qualities of business practices and processes, some competitors may try to exploit certain legal grey areas. Businesses must prepare against these vulnerabilities and secure what rightfully theirs.
