We’re nearing the end of 2021, and the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel is getting brighter. One trend from this time that we won’t soon forget is the “The Great Resignation”. The reasons why employees are deciding to leave the workforce at a rate higher than usual are plenty.
For many, stay-at-home orders, long hours working from home plus homeschooling, and the general sense of uncertainty, was just the nudge they needed to take their side business seriously or to dip their toe into entrepreneurship for the first time.
If you were an employee for decades, you may have no concept of what intellectual property (IP) is and what it means for you. As an entrepreneur, understanding what IP you have and how to protect it is the key to generating revenue and building a sustainable business. What's more, there are real consequences to doing nothing including:
1. Harder to fight copycats
It’s 2021, and it’s essentially mandatory that you have an online presence. People still visit websites to see who you are, what you’re about, and what services you offer. And social media is an easy and generally less expensive way to market your business.
The flip side of being public and developing a following is the ease in which some pretend-entrepreneurs simply watch and steal the names, slogans, and entire programs of creative entrepreneurs. Strong and secured brands put lazy copycats off.
Plus, if you have to take action, you have a stronger claim and can collect more damages.
2. Reputational Damage
Some copycats, copy word-for-word and pass it off as their own. Others copy just enough that a causal observer may believe you are the source of the “new” content. They’re happy to ride another entrepreneurs’ coat tails.
If that copycat engages in unsavory business practices (which is likely since they steal IP) and earns a bad rap, that in turn could tarnish the goodwill you’ve built for your brand.
3. Trickier Proving You Did It First
It takes time to build a strong brand, but popularity online and relying on the fact that you have used a name, slogan, or logo for a long time may not be enough.
How do you prove that you created the IP first? Being proactive and seeking registrations for your trademarks and copyrights is generally less expensive than engaging an attorney to send a demand letter or litigate after the damage is done.
4. Lost Opportunity
If you are successful in your entrepreneurship endeavors and become profitable you will have options. You can build a business that becomes a legacy for your family, put it up for sale for a nice profit, or license your work for a fee to name a few.
Generally, interested buyers will do their due diligence around the ownership of the intellectual property because it is one of the business assets up for sale. And where or if it’s not clear what the business owns, a potential buyer may lower their offer.
If you are considering licensing your work, you want to proactively protect it and establish standards of use first.
Want to know more? Learn more about intellectual property in my new book, Striking Business Gold, written with Sasha Lalite, CEO of Meta Viable Solutions. In the book, you’ll find 17 chapters of practical legal and operational tips and strategies to help you grow your business.
One of those chapters is all about intellectual property and covers the fundamentals with clear definitions, contains examples to help you understand what you need to protect what you’ve created, warns against waiting to protect your work, and offers tips for entrepreneurs to avoid being accused of infringement. You can get your copy here.
And if you know you shouldn’t wait another day to protect your IP, schedule a consultation with us here.