Intellectual property is as important as your business identity. This means protecting your property with a higher standard, including having proper documentation and registration by following the right steps. Those who are proactive with these steps will find that they can own any official documents related to their intellectual property and dictate how the property is used. This is vital to protect oneself or one’s business from persecution from those who want to take advantage of a lucrative, meticulously cultivated idea.
Mistake #1: Not Keeping Up With Technology Advances
If you are in the intellectual property business, you should consider staying current on technology advances in order to ensure your business stays at the forefront of competition. Since ideas and technology are constantly evolving, if you do not keep up with them or branch out to short-term protection mechanisms like provisional patent applications, the competition can easily duplicate your product or service before it ever hits the market.
Mistake 2: Not Registering Your Idea Early Enough
If you wait and do not register your idea soon enough, there is a chance that someone else could be granted ownership of your idea. There isn’t much that could stop another person from making an idea similar to yours. Therefore, your best interests include consulting with an intellectual property lawyer if you are ready to register your idea.
Mistake 3: Deferring Too Long to Put Your Idea To Work
One executive said that he waited a year before trying to commercialize his idea, but by then it was too late. “There was an opportunity cost to my waiting 12 months; opportunity cost of the potential value the product would have had for me.” A patent and trademark lawyer may be able to help you move through the process much faster and ensure your property is protected.
Mistake 4: Failing To Keep A Close Watch On The Technology Sector
Applications in the technology sector are subject to much faster innovation than other industries. This means that the same product may go obsolete even before its patent expires. You should watch any trends in this industry — what’s in demand today may be irrelevant two years from now! If you want to maintain your intellectual property, it is truly essential to stay at the top of recent trends and developments.
Mistake 5: Underestimating Competition
The sooner you know your competition, the better your business strategy becomes. Do your research and find out what other similar companies are doing for your type of product. Investigate ways to make them do less of it or, better yet, learn new ways to do things better than the competition is doing by optimizing their processes.
If you are considering engaging in any activities that could infringe on the intellectual property rights of another person or company, then it is imperative that you contact a Philadelphia intellectual property attorney before taking any further steps. Intellectual property includes everything from trademarks to music to inventions.
