By: Chalmers Brown
Every company has some type of intellectual property (IP). It's that product or service that you have developed that sets you apart from other companies and frames your business, its purpose and its growth potential. Therefore, you want to keep developing, managing and protecting that IP in a way that drives more value and stimulates sustainable growth. It's also important that there is some type of exit strategy in place since most companies are acquired primarily due to their IP assets.
As someone who's created my own startups and is now working with others on theirs to help develop technology, I've gained a greater understanding of how to take care of these assets as an IT executive so that I might provide others with best practices to implement with their own IP. Previously, I did not prioritize IP in the way I should have. Here are some best practices to employ:
Identify And Define Your IP
It may seem obvious, but it's important to define and detail exactly what is included in your IP in order to develop and protect it. This starts with anything that has been created within the company by the IT team or any other employee in terms of some aspect of the products or services you provide. An IP attorney can help inform this process until you understand how and what you should be tracking related to IP.
From there, you can use an IP tracking tool like Traklight (which I am not affiliated with but have used in a recent startup for IP tracking). It even provides recommendations on each item it lists related to IP protection. Part of identification also includes keeping very detailed notes on dates, including the dates you created the IP and specific times related to revisions or changes to those assets.
Weigh Legal Protection
It's important to know what type of IP should have patent protection so you can prioritize what funds you have available while putting legal protection behind it. With changing patent laws, it's important to learn what type of patent you should get and how soon to file because you can lose the rights to your own IP in certain situations by not filing for a patent before someone else does it. This primarily relates to product design IP.
Other types of legal protection you may need to get involve trademarks for IP like a brand logo, phrase or graphic design. You may also need a copyright for content-related IP. Trade secret protection is another possibility for certain types of IP. An example of this would be KFC and its trade secret protection of its fried chicken recipe.
Consult An IP Professional
I spent considerable time with an IP professional to make sure everything I was doing was correct and covered all the bases. The Intellectual Property Association is a good online resource for finding professionals and further educating yourself on what to do in relation to your own IP. Also, legal directories like Lawyers.com features attorneys who specialize in IP and may also be useful for ensuring you are managing your IP in the best way possible.
Don't Forget About IP
With so much going on every day with managing an IT department, managing IP can be overlooked. That means keeping track of renewal dates on legal IP registration or following up on additional documentation. IP does not take care of itself. Create a formal strategy for managing it, including tasks, roles and responsibilities, and timeline to stay on top of key dates, and focus on how changes in the IP landscape may affect your own assets.
Read More >> https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/08/16/best-practices-for-developing-managing-and-protecting-your-companys-intellectual-property/#2b0d3a33a77c
