How to Develop an IP Strategy for Your Company

How to Develop an IP Strategy for Your Company

The time and effort you have put into developing your company’s intellectual property — its products, services and brand names — may be wasted if they are not properly protected. You wouldn’t go to market without a marketing strategy and you shouldn’t neglect having a strategy for protecting your intellectual property (IP).

Here are some steps you should take in developing an IP strategy for your company:

Size matters.

The size of your company will dictate the complexity of your IP strategy. If you have a small company with few employees, you will most likely want to focus on the ownership rights and publication policies. If your company is large, you will want to integrate IP management policies and procedures into your strategy to properly protect your IP.

Implement IP creation guidelines.

The way you create your intellectual property — your product research and development process — should be documented. An important part of that process is nailing down ownership rights if you use outside consultants or independent contractors, as well as conducting extensive research to ensure something you want to trademark or copyright does not already exist.

Determine the market.

You do not want to waste precious resources developing a product or service that doesn’t meet a need in the marketplace, or provide you with a competitive advantage. If you can’t capitalize on it, you need to examine whether or not it is worth spending time and money on to protect.

Third-party protection.

Whoever is involved in the development of your IP — whether they are inside or outside the company — carry the potential for violating your company’s IP rights and protection. Be sure you plan for the use of contracts, confidentiality agreements, non-disclosure agreements and licensing agreements to protect your IP.

IP audits.

Your IP strategy should include routine audits of your existing IP to determine any gaps in protection or potential risks in your research and development process. Your audits should include the company’s patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets and the ownership related to these properties.

Every enterprise generally has some type of intellectual property that is deserving of protection. Jurado & Farshchian, P.L. assists business owners with intellectual property matters. Contact one of the experienced Florida IP attorneys at Jurado & Farshchian, P.L., at (305) 921-0440, or email us at info@jflawfirm.com.

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