Call Us Now
Email Us Now
Common Intellectual Property Challenges and Tips for Navigating Them
Business owners face many obstacles and challenges as they work on company growth and protecting their bottom lines, and creating, managing, and protecting intellectual property is a major concern. The processes governing this aspect of business can be complicated, but working with a knowledgeable business law firm can make it easier and ensure that you have all of the intellectual property protections in place that you need.
Not Being Aware That You Have Intellectual Property to Protect
One of the biggest challenges that organizations face is recognizing what intellectual property they have that needs to be protected. While this may seem obvious, it’s not uncommon for companies, especially small businesses, to be unaware that things like logos and brand slogans qualify as intellectual property and need to be protected as such. Blog posts, client lists, specific processes or formulas related to doing business can all be types of intellectual property, and if they aren’t protected, competitors could capitalize on your ideas, and you might not have any legal recourse.
Meeting with an intellectual property attorney to review your business’ assets and future plans can help ensure that you know what you have that may need to be protected now and in the future. An attorney can also quickly identify the most important assets to protect and start the process of applying for a patent or trademark. An IP attorney can also help you identify data that qualifies as trade secrets and set up nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) or other contracts to protect them.
Creating an IP Management Process
Once you’re aware of what intellectual property you have — or what needs to be created — the next step is to create a system to manage it. Some intellectual property protections, such as trademarks, expire and need to be renewed periodically. It’s also important to conduct a regular inventory of your business’ intellectual property, adding, removing, and updating as needed. Part of this process should also be conducting a search to ensure that competitors or other entities aren’t infringing on your intellectual property rights.
There are many options available to help you inventory and audit your intellectual property, and the right one for your business depends on factors such as the size of the company, the type of intellectual property, and what your plans are for the future. You will also need some internal processes to ensure that you know when protections need to be updated and have someone responsible for that process.
Navigating the Complex Documents and Processes Associated With Intellectual Property Protections
While trademarks, copyrights, and patents can offer valuable protection for your intellectual property, the process of applying for and maintaining them can be difficult. First, you have to conduct a search to determine if what you want to protect already exists. For example, business names are a common piece of intellectual property. But if another company in your industry is already using the same or a very similar name and has a trademark, you won’t be able to use this. Doing so could mean that you face fines and have to change all of your company branding, which can cost thousands of dollars.
If it’s not already in use, you then have to fill out the paperwork and file your application, which can take months to review. All of this takes a lot of resources that could be better spent on your business.
An intellectual property attorney can be a valuable resource in this area. Because they have in-depth knowledge of what’s required for these processes, they can often handle issues or apply for protections faster and more efficiently than the average business person. This allows you to leave the legal issues to the lawyers and focus on running your business.
Dealing With Intellectual Property Disputes
When intellectual property protections are violated, it often needs to be resolved through some type of legal action. This could include having an attorney send a cease and desist letter or filing a lawsuit that may be settled out of court or have to go through the process of a civil trial. Intellectual property disputes rely greatly on legal knowledge and experience. For example, a case may hinge on the ability of an attorney to argue that a business’ logo is too similar to a competitor’s. Resolving intellectual property disputes can take years, and it may be difficult for your company to continue doing business while waiting for the outcome.
Any time you’re dealing with a legal dispute in business, you need experienced legal counsel who is dedicated to representing and protecting your rights. This includes when someone else is using your intellectual property without permission or your business has been accused of intellectual property infringement.
Finding Knowledgeable Legal Counsel
Having experienced legal counsel is one of the best investments you can make for your business, but it can be difficult to find a law firm that has the intellectual property law experience that you need. When you’re dealing with intellectual property concerns, you need an attorney who has in-depth knowledge of how patents, trademarks, and other protections work and is prepared to handle any violations of your intellectual property rights that may occur.
At AVID Esq. Group, LLC, our intellectual property attorneys have the knowledge and experience to handle everything from applying for patents to pursuing legal action against someone who used your idea without permission. Call our office at 480-467-5636 to connect with our team and schedule an appointment to review your intellectual property needs.
