|
An
important early step for any E-business is to make an inventory of
IP assets. Pick up a pencil now and write a list of any
patents, patent
applications, or
innovations that you have made that you think could be
patentable inventions.
Also write down anything you think is
copyright. This
would include software, designs, documentation or technical writing, software
scripts, user interface materials, schematics, artwork,
web site designs, music,
photos, etc. Copyright protection is automatic in most countries and does not
require registration (though registration in the copyright depository, wherever
available, is generally advisable).
Now
write down which distinctive signs or names the company is using, whether
registered or not. Such signs enjoy protection as
trade and service marks upon
registration or, where the law so provides, through use even without
registration. These may include names of products as long as the name is not
just a description of the product (e.g. salt, tissue, good software, fast
computers), as well as logos and business names.
Write
down any
trade secrets; this
is information that has commercial value to you, that is not generally known and
that a reasonable person could not just figure out. This includes things like
product formulas, customer lists,
business strategies, plans for technical
enhancements to products, etc. Write down anything else you think might be
valuable that is intangible.
Finally, write down any
contracts that you think might affect the IP assets
you have listed (e.g. a consulting contract with the design firm that made your
web site, a
development agreement with a university, a release from your former
employer,
non-disclosure agreements,
employee agreements).
Now you
may wish to show your list to a lawyer and ask him or her for an estimate on
what it costs to get an “IP audit”. The purpose of the IP audit is to review
what IP the company has and determine how to protect, exploit, and enhance its
value. Your lawyer should be someone who is knowledgeable about IP. He or
she will advise you as to the best ways to use the legal system to protect your
IP from use or theft by competitors and to best exploit it online and off so as
to enhance its value as a company asset. If you do not have access to a lawyer,
check with your
national IP office to see if there are resources to assist you.
For
More Information
|
