So you thought of an idea…
Maybe it’s an invention or a service.
Or maybe it’s just a cool logo you’ve conjured up.
Believe it or not, there’s more to “truly” owning this piece of your brand… you have to legally protect your creation.
But, to look at it another way, what if your brilliant “original” creation already exists? You’d want to find that out before you go to market, no? Heartbreaking as that might be, you’d rather know now than get sued later, right?
These are the questions that go into understanding intellectual property and its importance.
By the end of this guide, you’ll know everything you need to know about IP to create the ideal brand components you want and need for your business – and how to protect them from infringement by others.
Table of Contents:
- What Is Intellectual Property, And What Is It Used For?
- What Are Intellectual Property Laws?
- What Are The Different Types Of Intellectual Property?
- Intellectual Infringement: What Are The Risks Of Violating Intellectual Property?
- How Can You Protect Your Business From Intellectual Infringement?
- How Can You Find The Right Intellectual Property Partner?
- Final Wrap Up Of Intellectual Property Protection For Small Businesses
What Is Intellectual Property, And What Is It Used For?
Intellectual property (sometimes abbreviated as “IP”) represents any non-physical asset created by a person or group for commercial or non-commercial use.
In other words?
Think of it as assets created from the mind that is protected by law and can’t be used without some form of expressed consent.
Some examples of intellectual property include:
- Logos, branding, and graphics
- Ideas
- Inventions
- Music
- Trade secrets
- Brand names
As a small business, your intellectual property can play a significant role in your success in your niche, how you market, the kinds of customers you attract, and so much more.
So it only makes sense that all successful brands take the measures necessary to protect their intellectual creations.
When asked about the nuances of intellectual property, award-winning trademark attorney Radiance Harris says:
“All businesses (large and small) have intellectual property worthy of protection. Intellectual property is your “secret sauce” and competitive marketing edge. It’s important to protect it because it establishes exclusive legal rights and ownership and prevents competitors from unlawfully misappropriating, stealing, or misusing it.”
Let’s take a deeper dive into what IP laws are and the different forms of intellectual property.
What Are Intellectual Property Laws?
Intellectual property laws help shield your intellectual creations from being used without permission.
Each form of intellectual property may fall under different categories with its own distinct rules.
What Are The Different Types Of Intellectual Property?
Patents
Patents deal with protecting inventions by giving the originator exclusive rights to the creation.
This can range from the design and features of the invention to how it solves a particular problem.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office often gives patents that can go a long way when attempting to accomplish a “blue ocean” strategy with your product.
Trademarks
Trademarks include any logos, phrases, or slogans taken to represent a brand, persona, or company.
Trademarks help distinguish your brand from another and can be a fundamental aspect of your marketing strategy.
Trademarks can’t be copied, which helps protect intellectual property and keep your brand distinguishable.
Copyrights
Copyrights make your original creations officially yours to own. As the copyrighted owner, you can grant permission for your creations or works to be used for different purposes.
Copyrighted materials often include website content, images, music, footage, and many other works.
Trade Secrets
Trade secrets deal with the process of making something or creating a formula for a result, which isn’t disclosed for apparent reasons…
A great example is Coca-Cola’s recipe for making its famous soft drink.
(In fact, it’s such a secret that they lock the recipe in a vault!)
Trade secrets are the processes that make your company’s business model unique. For instance, two brands can sell a very similar product, but how they go about gathering goods and manufacturing their product can differ significantly. These would be considered trade secrets.
Intellectual Infringement: What Are The Risks Of Violating Intellectual Property?
Infringing on intellectual property can be costly, making it essential to avoid it at all costs.
Some consequences of IP infringement can include:
- Cease and desist letters
- Lawsuits
- Fines
- Imprisonment
- Suspension of business/brand operation
- Adverse effects on reputation
As a small business, you should know that violating other people’s IP rights has the potential to hurt your bottom line – not to mention the many other potential risks in the list above.
Let’s now look into 3 ways to avoid violating the intellectual property of others.
How Can You Avoid Intellectual Property Violations?
1. Get Consent
Getting consent means licensing or crafting a legal agreement with another party that allows you to use someone’s IP and states the terms of such use.
For example, some services grant you licensing to use their software if you sign up for a membership. Another example might be licensing a photograph directly from a photographer or from a historical society to use in a publication or book.
By gaining consent, you’re on the same page with the rightful owner of the material and can use it to achieve your goals.
2. Give Credit To Original Creators
Crediting the original creator of any copyrighted materials can help you side sweep any legal backlash.
This is heavily based on context and doesn’t work 100% of the time.
The BEST approach is to reach out and ask to use the creator’s content.
Harris mentioned this when she added:
“Always obtain written permission from the intellectual property owner before using or sharing their content.”
Let’s now give a practical example.
Say you’re a content creator and would like to use another creator’s video in your next upload.
You can reach out to them, gain consent, and then credit their channel in text as you show their footage.
Harris also gives an example stating:
“Using random photographs found on social media or through a Google search without consent from the owner could be considered intellectual property infringement. Conducting careful research and due diligence before using or adopting a proposed name or third-party content can help you avoid costly legal conflicts or disputes.”
3. Use Royalty-Free Content
Royal-free content is readily available online (videos, images, music, etc.) and is free for anyone to use.
There are countless sites (free and paid) that offer copyright-free content for you to use for your marketing, sales, and overall brand-building efforts.
So there is no need to risk an IP infringement lawsuit – or having to take down content you’ve spent hours or days creating – just because you didn’t get permission.
How Can You Protect Your Business From Intellectual Infringement? Try These 4 Methods
Here are 4 quick ways to keep your business secure from intellectual infringement.
- Get copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, and patents – You can get started by speaking with an IP lawyer or company to help you understand which of your assets will be most important to protect.
- Have employees, contractors, and partners sign an NDA – An NDA (non-disclosure agreement) puts the people you work with on notice that certain intellectual property is yours – and that they are not allowed to share or use the information from your business with others.
- Technology security measures – You can add extra security measures to the different software, computers, and tools your brand uses for its operations (ex. password protections, 2-factor authentication, team member security training). You can keep these security guidelines in an employee handbook.
- Register business, assets, and domain names – Create a legal entity out of your brand or business. This also includes registering an official domain name that maps you as its owner.
How Can You Find The Right Intellectual Property Partner?
Intellectual property law tends to be a specialty that not all law firms offer. Yet these specialists are the best people to speak with if you’re looking to get a patent, trademark, or other legal forms of intellectual property protection.
For instance, think of contacting an intellectual property lawyer if you’re looking to publish a book with original designs on the cover and unique ideas inside. They can tell you everything you need to know to protect your unique ideals.
You can find an intellectual property partner by Googling them, going on listing websites, and also using social media like LinkedIn and Facebook groups.
As a matter of fact…
Radiance Harris was just an inbox message away on LinkedIn and gave us clear information about intellectual property, which helped us convey the information in this article.
In our knowledge-based economy, resources are everywhere — it’s simply about tapping into them.
Final Wrap-Up Of Intellectual Property Protection For Small Businesses
Intellectual property encompasses the ideas and “brain-backed” infrastructure your small business uses to form some unique selling proposition.
And when you look at things from a meta-perspective, other brands and businesses are doing the same thing.
So, for this reason, intellectual property laws tell us that we must own our creations to truly own the way our brands accumulate revenue, attention, and recognition.
We hope this piece on intellectual property protection gave you things to think about as your small business expands and gains notoriety.
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