4 Ways to Protect Your Intellectual Property

[This article was written by Anica Oaks.]

Not all things can be kept under lock and key. When it comes to intangible creations, it’s seemingly harder to protect your intellectual property due to the online environment. Here are four tips for assisting you in keeping the rights to your intellectual property in this day and age.

Get A Trademark

A trademark can be a great first step in ensuring that your intellectual property rights are protected. A trademark is utilized to protect a business’s logo, products, designs, symbols, and so forth. You will have exclusive rights to utilize your trademark. You’ll need to apply with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) to get a trademark for your business.

Get A Copyright

If you don’t have a business registered, then you can get a copyright. This will provide you with similar exclusive rights to the original works that you create. Your insurance agent can help you to discover how to get a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. It’s important to note that your copyright will last for 70 years beyond your death.

Use Non-Disclosure Agreements

If you’re developing your intellectual property, you may need the help of investors or others to do so. You’ll need to share your idea with them without having to worry about your rights being potentially violated in the future if they share your ideas with others. A great way to fix this issue is to use a non-disclosure agreement. Have anyone that you present your product or service to sign this type of agreement. It basically holds them liable if they violate your intellectual property rights.

Don’t Get A Patent

If you don’t want anyone knowing about your intellectual idea, then simply don’t apply for a patent. When you go through the filing process to get a patent, your idea is published. Therefore, the recipe behind how your product is made or your service is performed now becomes public knowledge. Once published, others can create a similar product or service with a few differences without violating your intellectual property rights.

Protecting your intellectual property is something that you should be concerned with. You don’t want other people cashing in on your idea or tarnishing a good concept. The above are four great methods that you can utilize to protect your intellectual property rights. There are various others out there that you can employ. Realize that the more you employ the better your rights will be protected.