As we discussed last time in the first in the series here, myths and misconceptions are part and parcel with nearly every human endeavor, and business is no exception. Myths take hold where knowledge is lacking, until such point where they are misperceived as knowledge itself. Occasionally these myths can be harmless, but education is needed for those that can do real harm to people working under these false assumptions.
One of the most pernicious startup myths — indeed, one that often persists well past the startup stage— is the idea that there are companies or fields in which intellectual property (IP) doesn’t exist, or at least not to the extent that it matters in decision making. And while there’s no basis for that assumption, it’s easy to understand how the idea might take hold among the uninitiated. Intellectual property often applies to real things, but itself is intangible, and in fields that concern themselves solely with the tangible assets they deal in, it must be easy to forget or ignore what you can’t see in front of you.
As I’ve written about many times before,IP is something that exists in every business and serves as the backbone of what they do. And the most successful companies in the world recognize the importance of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. They know that a strong IP portfolio is a platform from which they can continue to build and innovate, and that is why they devote the resources to protecting their intangible assets. It’s not a coincidence that the most frequent applicants for IP protection are the companies considered leaders in innovation and creativity.
Nevertheless, there are undoubtedly some who, despite this evidence, still refuse to see the relevance of IP in their own businesses. Patents are the province of the Elon Musks of the world, with their rockets to Mars, copyrights the domain of Disney and their blockbusters. Particularly among small businesses, the notion that your own venture or enterprise doesn’t rise to the level needed to have what would be considered IP can be prevalent in the absence of a greater understanding on the topic.
Read more >> https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryjuetten/2019/03/12/startup-myths-the-company-without-ip/#3d58c94d3b63
