In 2020, U.S. courts awarded $4.67 billion in cases involving intellectual property theft. Some entrepreneurs don’t understand intellectual property laws and accidentally violate intellectual property rights. They end up paying hefty fines and legal fees for their oversight.
In this article, we discuss how to avoid intellectual property infringement. We answer questions such as, ‘what is intellectual property,’ and review the steps to avoid expensive legal battles. Continue reading to secure your business future.
- Understand Intellectual Property
When it comes to learning to avoid intellectual property infringement, education is important. You may be wondering, ‘what is intellectual property.’
Intellectual property is not a physical object so much as it is an idea or concept. It refers to things like artistic work, designs, names, technology, and more.
Some of the most common types of intellectual property rights include trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents.
Intellectual property theft can occur as a result of intentional or unintentional actions. Even if you violate intellectual property laws by accident, you may still face lawsuits and hefty fines.
- Do Your Research
Good intentions aren’t enough to keep you out of financial and legal trouble when it comes to intellectual property rights. For this reason, it’s essential for your to do your research.
If you live in Canada, you can start with a preliminary search of proposed business names. Search engines such as those at opstart.ca make it easy. This helps ensure your trademark does not violate any intellectual property laws of existing trademarks.
- Register Your Work
Once you’ve determined that your business name or trademark is available, you need to register your work. To do this, you’ll need to determine the appropriate kind of protection.
Registering your work helps you avoid intellectual property infringement. It also affords your own work some protection against intellectual property theft.
If you don’t register your work and disclose your ideas to others, you may lose some intellectual property rights. Intellectual property laws require you to file your application within a year of disclosing the information to the public.
- Consider Your Market
When starting a small business, it’s easy to believe that you’ll only sell in your immediate city or state. However, it’s worth considering the long-term future of your intellectual property.
There are different levels of registration when it comes to avoiding intellectual property theft. Examples of these include state, national, and international registration.
If you think you might sell your product across the U.S. or in a foreign country, additional protection is a must. Be sure to keep all documents current by renewing your trademark, or other coverage, before its end date.
- Utilize Non-Disclosure Agreements
Working with an intellectual property lawyer can help keep the intricacies of intellectual property laws from overwhelming you. For example, an intellectual property lawyer would likely recommend utilizing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
An NDA keeps any conversations about your intellectual property secret. It prevents those that sign from being able to share their thoughts, ideas, and projects with others.
NDAs are an important tool when trying to avoid intellectual property infringement, especially if your project hasn’t been fully protected or is awaiting final approval of protection.
Avoid Intellectual Property Infringement
By following the above steps, you should be able to avoid intellectual property infringement with ease. Taking the time to learn things like, ‘what is intellectual property,’ can help protect you and your ideas.
For more tips geared toward the success of your business, visit our blog.
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