When starting a new business, there are a lot of considerations. You may be thinking about the way you want to organize your company. There are probably numerous business contracts and agreements to be drafted and signed. Plus, you have to develop a business plan to ensure your company can make money in the modern business climate. However, something that frequently falls through the cracks is a plan for protecting intellectual property (IP). Here are three reasons you don’t want to leave this for later.
#1 It Is Easier to Protect Your IP Than Fight for It Later
If you immediately trademark your company logo and register your brand name, competing companies that may be starting up around the same time will see this when they are doing a trademark or company name search. This keeps you from having to prove later that you had a particular company name or symbol first.
#2 You Gain Better Recourse for Infringement
Some of your IP is automatically protected by law even if you don’t register it officially. So why go through the extra step? For one thing, it can be tougher to prove you had something first without it being officially copyrighted, trademarked, or patented. Plus, IP protection allows you to take immediate action against an offending company.
#3 Get a Faster Settlement
Protected IP gives you an open and shut case. That is going to lead to attempts at a quick settlement. No one who is actually in the wrong wants to go to court. Of course, the first offer may not even remotely cover the damages, but at least you have a place to start negotiating from.
Get Help for All of Your Intellectual Property Needs
From helping to protect your IP to seeking a settlement when your property rights have been violated, small business owners in the San Diego area want Pokala Law APC in your corner. We’re a small business that helps to defend small businesses in California. Call 1-844-695-1487 today to learn more.
