Intellectual Property Issues:  How Do I Protect My Great Idea?

This blog post was written by Tom Willy, an attorney at Van Osdol KC.

This article has been written by the law firm of Van Osdol, PC for the reader’s general knowledge.   Please understand that nothing in this article should be taken as legal advice for any specific situation. By writing this article, Van Osdol is not intending for any attorney-client relationship to be established and is not offering legal services to the reader. 

Whether starting anew or running a “going enterprise,” the owner is likely to run across Intellectual Property (“IP”) law issues and may have to deal with not-so-fun consequences.   IP rights have become a part of many common business transactions and are often a big part of the value associated with an enterprise or line of business.

These are some of the basic questions that face us in the marketplace.

Intellectual Property is a property right that is independent from but associated with a physical product (like shoes) or service (like Linkedin) or secret (like the formula for Coca-Cola). It can also be associated with a movie, or song or computer code. Basic types of IP are trade secrets, copyright, patent, and trademark (which includes service mark).

To begin, you must identify IP, determine if you are the original creator, know how IP can be protected, understand IP tools, and know what to do if you run into someone else’s IP.

You can protect your IP by registering for copyright, patents, and trademarks (and service marks) but not for trade secrets.   Licensing agreements, confidentiality agreements, and nondisclosure agreements are other commonly used tools for protection.

Before you accidentally violate someone else’s intellectual property, you can take action to keep yourself out of trouble.   Before launching a new product, developing a product name (or other types of trademark), or publishing new copy, you should do your due diligence before the launch to see whether you are walking into trouble.   If you have been contacted (either formally or informally), about a claimed IP violation then you have good reason to know there is a potential problem that deserves immediate attention. 

On Tuesday, January 8, 2019, Van Osdol is coming back to Bridge Space as a part of our free legal information seminars to the community.   This month’s discussion will address the basics of identifying IP issues and some of the solutions.   We’ll also discuss things that can go wrong if you find yourself using someone else’s IP. Van Osdol works with businesses, nonprofit charities, and medical service providers to achieve a balance of protection and opportunity for intellectual property. 

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