In any given company, several assets need
to be protected. There’s your inventory,
your facilities, your money and, of course, your employees. But, one asset that is sometimes over looked is intellectual property.
Intellectual property is the key to day-today business. Your products, brands and
designs are what make you unique in the
marketplace. But, many companies — especially small and midsize ones — are not
aware of the ins and outs of intellectual
property. If left unprotected, your amazing
ideas could get scooped up and used by a
larger competitor with more resources and
legal know-how.
“There are not many mistakes a company
can make that can’t be fixed once it has
more resources,” says Doug Morgan, the
managing partner of the Columbus office of
Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP. “But the one
thing that is hard to fix is intellectual property mistakes. Once you mess that up, the
opportunity may be gone forever.”
Therefore, adequate protection of your
company’s intellectual property is crucial.
You’ve got to make sure you — and not your
competitors — are profiting from your company’s innovation and creativity. And,
besides protecting your ideas, innovations
and inventions, covering your intellectual
property bases will help you gain the capital
you need to make your business grow.
“One of the first things an investor will ask
when considering your company is whether
or not you have any intellectual property and
if that intellectual property is properly protected,” says John Cipolla, a patent lawyer
and the co-chair of the IP (intellectual property) group at Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP.
“Having a strong intellectual property strategy will help you win over investors and
lenders, and it will help you when you’re trying to get a state or federal grant.”
Smart Business spoke with Morgan and
Cipolla about intellectual property and what
you can do to ensure your great ideas aren’t
somebody else’s meal ticket.
What are the different types of intellectual
property?
There are four categories of intellectual
property: patents, trademarks, trade secrets
and copyrights.
- Patents. A patent prevents others from
making, selling or using the patented invention and from importing the patented invention or an article made by a patented
process into the United States. But, a patent
does not really permit the patentee to do
anything with the invention. Generally,
patent rights are exclusionary, not permissive rights. - Trademarks. A trademark identifies the
source of origin of a product. Trademarks
protect the public so that a consumer is not
confused as to the maker or provider of a
good or service. - Trade secrets. This is anything that is confidential and that gives the owner a competitive business advantage. It could be a real
invention or an intangible like a technique,
method, manufacturing process or idea. - Copyrights. Copyrights protect the original expression of an idea. A copyright does
not protect an idea itself, but rather the way
that the creator expresses the idea. The
owner of a copyright can exclude others
from reproducing, adapting and publicly
distributing, displaying or performing the
copyrighted work.
What should companies be aware of when it
comes to intellectual property?
You have to always be aware of who owns
the intellectual property. For example, if you
outsource the engineering or development
of, say, your Web site, you have to get an
agreement in place that says your company
owns that intellectual property. Likewise,
you need agreements with your employees
that say the company owns any intellectual
property they create. Usually in the United
States, the one who creates is the original
owner of the intellectual property. But,
when it comes to the intellectual property of
your company, you need a contract that provides ownership to the one who is paying
for it, i.e., your company.
Also, you should consult with outside
patent lawyers before filing any patent
applications. Besides keeping you from filing useless patents that may be a waste of
money, a good intellectual property attorney
will help you understand patent laws and
the strict deadlines that come with them.
Just because you have a patent doesn’t
mean you’re home free. Having a partner in
the patent world will help you ensure that
you don’t lose any of your rights.
How can a company protect its intellectual
property?
Again, a good patent attorney is invaluable. There are several laws designed to
encourage development and innovation by
granting property rights to creative and
inventive people. These rights allow artists,
authors and inventors to protect themselves from unauthorized use and misuse of
their creations. Besides helping you file the
right patents and grow the development of
the product, a strong intellectual property
firm keeps you from infringing on the rights
of others. Not only that, you’ll ensure that
your innovations remain your own. You can
have the best idea in the world, but if you
don’t properly protect it, someone else may
come along and take it. To preserve the
well-being of your company now and in the
future, you must have your intellectual
property protected.
DOUG MORGAN is the managing partner of the Columbus office of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP. Reach him at (614) 621-7011 or
[email protected]. JOHN CIPOLLA is the co-chair of the IP group at Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP. Reach him at (614) 621-7100
or [email protected].
