You need to take into account a number of things when building a successful startup, but none as important as intellectual property (IP). While the word is often thrown around and most entrepreneurs know about it by know, it still creates a lot of trouble for startups.
Yet getting it right could be the difference between building a successful campaign and going to bust. The following guide will help you understand the importance of IP and the most common mistakes people make. More importantly it’ll show you how to avoid the mistakes and plan your IP to success.
What is IP and it matters?
So, what is IP all about? In short, IP refers to inventions and creations of the mind. This could be a piece of art, like a symbol or a specific design,
…show more content…
The laws used for protection fall under the following categories:
• Patents – patents cover products or processes, the way things operate. The product or process must be original and inventive in comparison to ideas that are already out there. It is possible to file country-specific patents or apply for an international patent. A software program could be an example of intellectual property covered by a patent.
• Trademarks – trademarks protect the signs and designs which distinguish the product of other traders. The Facebook logo or the Apple logo are examples of trademarks. Interestingly, you could also get a trademark for a specific smell or the products design, like a special bottle.
• Registered design – registered designs protect more deeply the way things look. A specifically shaped mobile phone or a patter in a pair of jeans could have a registered design.
• Copyrights – copyrights protect the business or person’s artistic work from being copied. This could be the copy of the websites or the content of a book, for example.
Why does it
…show more content…
This in turn, will naturally provide more leverage against competition. Other businesses won’t be able to use your brilliant business idea and benefit from it. You’ll be legally protected – in case someone uses your product ideas without permission, you’ll have the law on your side and you can seek compensation.
• Security – the business will enjoy more security against theft, for example, once IP is sorted. Furthermore, appropriate IP can protect your customers as well, as they are purchasing from legitimate companies that upheld their consumer rights. It also guarantees counterfeit products don’t become a headache you need to deal with.
• Leverage with investors – another big benefit for startups is the improved attractiveness to investors, if you have sorted out IP rights. Investors know it adds more value to your startup and seeking financing is much easier once you have IP sorted out. This doesn’t necessarily mean a fully planned and organised IP system, but you should show investors that you at least understand the importance of IP and know how to go about achieving it.
The common mistakes to
“Copyright is a fundamental right of ownership and protection common to all of the arts” (O’Hara & Beard, 2006, p. 8). “It is a form of intellectual Property (IP)” and it gives the owner exclusive rights to the copyright (O’Hara & Beard, 2006, p. 11).
“Protecting your intellectual property is crucial to your business.” (Hinson, 2014) When business have intellectual property that is going to be popular or helpful in advancing there business, they have to take measures to ensure that the ideas or prototypes are protected from other that may steal the intellectual property. In the United States, many laws or safeguard steps have to be followed in order to preserve the intellectual property. A business owner has the right to protect the intellectual property, because the failure to do so could result in demise of the business itself.
According to our textbook, “Real property constitutes land and all things permanently attached to it (i.e. a house, a tree or coal below land). Intellectual property such as copyrights, patents and trademarks is personally owned but generally treated as a separate form of property by the law. Personal property is characterized by its portable nature; it can be carried from place to place (i.e. tangible personal property or intangible personal property)” (Roger, 2012).
When Tim Berners-Lee created the Internet as a non-proprietor, not-for-profit information conduit, he could not have predicted how controversial digitized intellectual property would become. Prior to the Internet, intellectual property was a fairly straightforward issue. It was protected with copyright, trademark, and patent legislations, which granted exclusive rights to owners. Violations were not as abundant because distribution was constrained by time and space. Moreover, violators were identifiable because anonymity was difficult to achieve. In today's "global village" however, digital information such as books, music, software and art can be instantly shared between two anonymous users, without any fee to the creator. Legislation is much more difficult to enforce.
Intellectual Property Law used to only protect art, music, and literature, but because of technological development, Intellectual Property Law now also protects a greater variety of innovations including designs, inventions, symbols, discoveries, and words. The phrase “intellectual property” was first known to be used in the late 1700’s; however, it was not widely talked about, nor was the Intellectual Property Law in actuality commonly implemented. Intellectual Property Rights slowly gained more attention by mid-1800’s after the Industrial Revolution had taken place: more companies were created, competition between corporations became fiercer, and owning unique innovations were crucial to winning the competition. However, as Intellectual Property
Way before their time Esther Dyson and Lance Rose both had their own opinions about the future of 'intellectual property' in the digital age. In 1995, two authors noticed this emergence of change. In the Wired article "The Emperor's Clothes Still Fit Just Fine" Lance Rose suggested that the norm of copyright infringement being a criminal act such as stealing a car would prevent this practice from becoming something that would be acceptable in society today. This leads into his argument that we do not need to change the current laws (in 1995) to prevent future copyright infringement. Esther Dyson's Wired article on the other hand titled "Intellectual Value" expresses a completely opposite view of this very same issue of copyright. Her arguments support the claim that copyright infringement would become more prominent in society and cause major revision of how we approach and pass laws toward the handling of intellectual property. Both of these articles were very predictive from the time they were written and have been proved accurate by events through the years.
...ers, generates solutions to global challenges, and encourages innovation in order to reward entrepreneurs. The Intellectual Property industry helps to employ over 55 million Americans, and
Intellectual property is property resulting from intellectual, creative processes. A product that was created because of someone’s individual thought process. Examples includes books, designs, music, art work, and computer files. (Miller R. J., 2011, p. 114) In the music industry a copyright is an important tool for artist to use to protect themselves from infringers. A copyright is the exclusive right of an author or originator of a literary or artistic production to publish, print, or sell that production for a statutory period of time. A copyright has the same monopolistic nature as a patent or trademark, but it differs in that it applies exclusively to works of art, literature, and other works of authorship (including computer programs). (Miller R. J., 2011, p. 125)
Intellectual property (IP) is defined as property that is developed through an intellectual and creative processes. Intellectual property falls under the category of property known as intangible rights, which includes patents (inventions of processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter), copyrights (original artistic and literary works of), trademarks (commercial symbols), and trade secrets ((product formulas, patterns, designs). Intellectual property rights has a significant value to both individuals and businesses, providing in the case of large companies, over one half of their value on return. Since intellectual property rights are so important to the U.S. economy and its citizens, federal and state law provides protection, for example, civil damages and criminal penalties to be assessed against infringers. Due to the importance of intellectual property to a business, I don’t think that its protection and enforcement is going to be a thing of the past.
There are many reason that why is it important to protect one’s intellectual property. Some of the reason are Creator being accused as a theft, Loss of Reputation, Loss of income, Loss of Asset and Loss of Authority Rights.
...ple's physical property, there is clearly a social benefit from the wide dissemination of intellectual propertyi.e., ideas and their expressions.
...elated Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) has not only made it easier for companies to register their trademark in one country or another but it has also extended their level of protection against competitors or counterfeiters.
Intellectual property is the ownership of ideas as well as the control over the tangible or virtual representation of those ideas. Software is intellectual property, as are books, movies, and music.Like music performers and authors, software developers use copyright laws to protect their work and their investment in the field. The theft of intellectual property thus eliminates the resources used to develop newer and better products.
Copyright is a protection for authors, composers or artists and other creators who create innovative idea base work. Copyright law is important because of its role to protect the interests of the creator, while allowing others to gain access to it legally. It designed to make sure that creators receive appropriate rights for their own ideas and creativity, and to promote artistic creativity by protecting the creator.
Patents claims focus of the mechanism, principles and components surrounding those ideas. Patents are the strongest of the law to protect the intellectual property. Patent law is based on a very strict liability standard, making a business owner’s strongest option for intellectual property protection. Patents often make use of reverse engineering. Through reverse engineering, they see if patented inventions are in used by another company. Patents have an expiration date; the design patent protect design, shape, configuration and appearance of any invention for 14 years, and utility patents that protect functional makeover and new invention last for 20