GlobalBX

Even as the global economy continues to recover its bearings, there are significant challenges facing business owners and entrepreneurs. With a paucity of jobs being created and a fluctuating level of consumer confidence further complicating the issue, those in charge of their own commercial course must strive to make the most of every single advantage if they are to achieve long term success. One of the most compelling ways to steal a march on your rivals is to recognize the importance of intellectual property and protect your core business ideas.

How to Protect your Intellectual Property

While protecting your businesses intellectual property is a sound commercial theory, however, what practical steps can you take to put it into practice Consider the following:

Patenting: If your business concept is product orientated or revolves around a specific invention, it is important to patent the idea as soon as possible. A patent affords you the legal right to use and exploit this idea for a fixed period of time, while also ensuring that you have the authority to prevent other parties from using the concept for their own commercial gain. When you make your application, you need to decide which countries you would like own your patent in as each will require a separate process. So long as you plan wisely and pay the subsequent fees in a timely manner, your individual patents will remain valid for the predetermined amount of time.

Trademarks: While you may not have developed a product or invention, there are other items of intellectual property that you may wish to protect. Take branded images and logos for example, which are designed to be unique to your business and represent its customer facing visage. To protect these images, you can register for a trademark that prevents other firms from using them in any format. Applicable to business names, slogans, website addresses, logos, shapes, colors or sounds, the only key criteria is that the item in question is distinctive for your business and not contrary to law and morality.

Copyright: Some intellectual property is harder to define than others, but you do not need to have an innovative invention or strong logo to seek out viable business protection. Entrepreneurial individuals within the creative industries can also protect their work, as artists, musicians, photographers, writers, designers, producers and actors have the option of benefiting from copyright laws. A copyright does not have to be registered for, as it is automatically afforded to individuals when an idea is fixed or work is committed to paper. In order to guarantee maximum security, however, it is wise to insert the world renowned © symbol into your work while also including your name and date of publication.

The Last Word

Just like comparing insurance policies, it is important to consider your full range of options when protecting your firms intellectual property. This will not only help you to minimize costs and achieve the best possible protection available, but it will also afford you an opportunity to obtain a critical advantage in your chosen industry.