Trademarks/Copyrights

Intellectual Property Protection for Growing Enterprises

Protecting your company’s intellectual property (IP) is essential to securing future profits and growth. Without an effective IP strategy, a company’s long-term profits and success are effectively capped. This goes for both startups and established companies. The goodwill generated by your successful company is at risk of being exploited by competitors and a customer list is a goldmine that is often not protected as it should be.

The good news is that your team doesn’t have to spend its time trying to figure out how to protect the company’s intellectual property. We can do it for them!

Differences Between Trademarks and Copyrights

Businesses use trademarks (words, names, symbols, or other devices) to build brand awareness. More specifically, trademarks help consumers identify the source of products and services they purchase. Having a proactive strategy for protecting your company’s trademarks is crucial for its long-term success. 

A copyright is protection for “original works of authorship” like software, lyrics, architectural works and others, as well as the descriptions, explanations, or illustrations of an idea or system but only applies when the specific rules of copyright are followed. Materials that are eligible for copyright protection must be in a fixed, tangible form. Importantly, copyright protection does not extend to the “idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.” It is important to understand the distinctions in copyright protection and other forms of IP protection, as a patentable invention may be the only way your business can protect a business methodology. 

Patents

Sage Business Counsel does not currently offer patent services, but we are happy to help source competent patent counsel to protect patentable inventions from our network of attorneys from around the US and abroad.

Trade Secrets, Goodwill, Customer Lists

Trade secrets can only be protected by a robust information control strategy within your business. 

Let Us Help You Develop and Implement a Strategy for Your IP

Any strong business thrives on creativity and strong brand awareness. Intellectual property protection is essential for fostering the effectiveness of these two important components of business success. Depending on the nature of your business, you might need trademarks, copyrights, patents, or even all three. By understanding what company assets are capable of protection and how best to protect them, business leaders secure the value of the company and prevent unlawful piracy that can damage its reputation and profitability.

Reach out to our team today to discuss your options for protecting company assets from unlawful piracy.