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Each entrepreneur had a moment of inspiration when the idea begins to shape. Maybe it’s a recent product, a clever application, a unique service model and even an ideal name for your company. It’s a joyful feeling. But here is the catch: the ideas are easy to admire and even easier to repeat – unless you know protect them.
As the general director of the international franchise brand, I had a place in the first place of what was happening when innovation meets reality. Over the years, I watched the corporations soaring because they closed their mental property and saw others fight when they didn’t do it. Let me lead you thru what I learned along the way, not as a lawyer (because I’m not one), but as someone who built a company in which protection of innovation is not only smart, it’s survival.
What is mental property (IP)?
Think about mental properties (IP) as a secret sauce behind the company. This is the name you got here up with in the shower. It’s a bizarre logo that just works. This is your reserved approach to doing something higher, faster or smarter than everyone else. And it deserves to be protected in the same way as every shop site.
There are several principal “flavors” IP, everyone serves a clearly separate purpose. The trademark protects your brand identity: company name, logo, slogan, and possibly even sound if you’re feeling particularly creative. Copyright includes creative things: this post on the blog of the killer, your instructional videos, software code. Patents? These are for inventions, large or small, from rocket fuel to a rubber spatula. And trade secrets? Well, these are techniques and processes quietly that you don’t need to go away the inner circle. Think about the recipe for grandma’s cookies or a reserved training instructions for the franchise brand.
Why IP is the whole lot
I see. When starting or scaling the company, your list of things to do is nice. But that is the point: ignoring mental property can come back to bite you. I saw the corporations spend years building a recognizable brand, just to find that someone else was a trademark. I saw marketing content borrowed By competition and ideas for products repeated without considering. This is not only unfair, it is expensive.
In the franchise world, mental property is the whole lot. Our reserved technologies and systems, training programs and digital tools create a plan of franchisees throughout the country. Without clear protection, none of them worked. The franchise is as strong as the brand behind it – and the brand is as strong as IP.
You don’t have to run a franchise to feel influence. Maybe you are the founding father of the startup for investors. If you have a everlasting product and do not have IP protection, this is a red flag. Maybe you are launching a brand of wellness on Instagram. If your logo is not marked, it’s possible you’ll be asked to vary it after printing materials and building a website.
How to guard your ideas
Now, before you begin spirally, let me say it: you do not have to come back up with all this today. But you have to begin considering like the owner of something precious because you are. Start by examining whether the name of your company is already used. If it is available, examine it. If you have invented something original, discuss with a patent lawyer. If you create content, make sure you run accurate records and understand the copyright basics. And if you have a secret recipe or an algorithm that drives your company, treat it like gold: secure it, limit access and ask members of the confidentiality team of signing.
Most importantly, get help. IP law is refined and although I can discuss with it from a business perspective, I cannot give legal advice. (Here is an official reservation: I’m not a lawyer. Always seek the advice of with a qualified lawyer of mental property to properly protect your unique business resources.) What I Power Let’s say that making this priority can save time, money and stress in the long term.
Entrepreneurship is a building journey, brick brick, an idea for an idea. But if you do not shoot at what you built, someone else may come and make a claim. This is not only frustrating, it might be devastating for the whole lot you worked on.
We spent many years in Anago Cleaning Systems, tuning our business model and protecting the mental property that drives it. This is one of the explanation why we were in a position to develop, franchise and introduce innovations of confidence. You don’t have to build a global franchise to reap the benefits of the same protection. You just have to treat your ideas as precious assets and take steps to guard them properly.
Because in the world of entrepreneurship an idea is just the starting. How do you protect it? This is what it turns into business.
Adam Povlitz is the general director and president of Anago Cleaning Systems, an international franchise brand specializing in industrial cleansing. The views expressed here are based on business experience and are not legal advice. In mental property matters, at all times seek the advice of a licensed lawyer.
Each entrepreneur had a moment of inspiration when the idea begins to shape. Maybe it’s a recent product, a clever application, a unique service model and even an ideal name for your company. It’s a joyful feeling. But here is the catch: the ideas are easy to admire and even easier to repeat – unless you know protect them.
As the general director of the international franchise brand, I had a place in the first place of what was happening when innovation meets reality. Over the years, I watched the corporations soaring because they closed their mental property and saw others fight when they didn’t do it. Let me lead you thru what I learned along the way, not as a lawyer (because I’m not one), but as someone who built a company in which protection of innovation is not only smart, it’s survival.
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