Intellectual property is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. Once you are able to pinpoint what that is in your business, it becomes a powerful asset. And just like with any other asset, you can choose to monetise it by licensing or sell it if you wish to.
The truth is Bifounders, Regardless of whether you are planning to sell a service, product or personal brand, you probably will have some sort of Intellectual Property you may need to address in the future.
Intellectual Property is an important subject and it is best to consult a lawyer when it comes to that. If you have a tight budget in place, hiring freelance professionals is a great way of saving money without compromising on the quality of work. You can outsource a freelance lawyer from platforms like upowork.com fiver.com or lexoo.com (for the UK).
When it comes to your IP, generally speaking there are 4 main categories you may fall under. Do you know what they are?
Trademarks, Patents, Copyrights and Trade-Secrets.
Trademarks
Trademarks protect brands and the way they distinguish themselves from the market.
Examples of trademarks could be Louise Vuiton pattern, Starbucks Logo, Coca-Cola original bottle shape, etc.
Patents
Patents protect functional or ornamental features.
Examples of patents could be a new type of bottle opener, computer parts, Instagram swipe up feature, Amazon 1click buy feature etc.
Copyrights
Copyrights protect creative work or works of authorship.
Examples of copyrights could be any books, movies, videos, music, photography etc.
Trade-Secrets
Trade-Secrets protect secret information.
Examples of trade-secrets could be KFC sauce recipe, Pepsi formula and so on.
Over the next 4 blogs we will discuss them 1 by 1 and see how they apply to your business.
ok, now that we've established that let's see how they apply in practice:
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