Intellectual Property (IP) is all about protecting your inventions and creations. IP enables the creator to benefit from their work. As a startup founder or entrepreneur, it is important that you understand IP and how to protect your inventions, innovations, creations, slogans, names, etc.
What is IP?
Intellectual property refers to a product of human intelligence that is protected by the law from unauthorized use by others. IP is one of a company’s most valuable assets, gives your business a competitive edge over the competition and is important for long-term success.
Perhaps, say you are launching a new product design, you can use multiple forms of IP to protect it. You might file a patent to protect its unique functionality, trademark the name, and use a non-disclosure agreement for all employees who are privy to trade secrets related to the production of that product.
Types of IP
Intellectual property comes in four forms:
1) Patents
A patent protects a design or invention. For example, a patent is used to protect a product design, computer chip, engines, etc.
A patent gives the owner the exclusive right to manufacture, use, distribute, and sell a given design within a given geographic region. There are two typical types of patents – a utility patent and a design patent. A utility patent protects how the invention works, while a design patent protects how the invention looks.
Patents are typically registered at the federal level. When you register a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, you are claiming the sole right to manufacture, use, and sell the design or invention in the United States.
Always patent your idea before sharing it! There are countless entrepreneurial horror stories of how a design was stolen. Others may be able to reverse engineer your product, replicate your design, and patent it first.
2) Trademarks
Trademarks protect a name, word, phrase, design, logo, smell, sound, or a combination of a few that is used to identify a company, product, or service. For example, a trademark can be used to protect your company name, company logo, company tagline, product name, etc. A trademark is denoted by the TM symbol.
Trademarks are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. You can search their database to see if the trademark is still available. You can always register your trademark with your state.
3) Copyright
Copyright protects artistic works in various forms such as written, digital, art, pictures, and music. A copyright can be used to protect books, poetry, illustrations, play lyrics and scripts, movies, photographs, websites, blogs, and building plans.
A copyright is established the moment the work of art is created. For a public record of ownership, a copyright is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. A copyright protects the artistic work for the life of the author plus 70 years.
Once you create a piece of intellectual artistic work, you own it and can set the terms on how that piece of artwork is used by others. If another person wants to use or repurpose your work, they are required to contact you, attribute the work to you, and follow your appropriate use guidelines. The one exception to this is Fair Use, which allows the use of copyrighted work in specific circumstances such as news reporting, teaching, and research.
4) Trade Secrets
Trade secrets protects the stealing of confidential information. A trade secret could be used to protect your customer lists, a specific recipe, a specific method, etc.
To identify a trade secret, mark it as confidential, take the necessary precautions, and use a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) to designate a trade secret. A trade secret must be identified ahead of time with a certain procedure such as a NDA, not after the fact..
How to Get Help
When you are just starting out, finances are tight. However, it is important to invest in IP and protect your ideas. There are options available!
For example, the UW-Madison Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic is designed to help entrepreneurs develop businesses that create a positive economic impact for the state of Wisconsin (learn more about application criteria).
There are other attorneys who specialize in helping startups. These law firms are often sponsors at entrepreneurial events, such as the Wisconsin Technology Council’s annual Entrepreneur Conference and Early-Stage Symposium.
Of course, you can always contact the Innovation Center and we can provide a referral based on your needs.