In the age of instant communication, it’s not easy to protect business ideas. Depending on what kind of information is accessible to others, there are several options available to protect business ideas from being stolen or copied by third parties. If you want to ensure that your business partners or employees do not misappropriate or share important business ideas or information with others, your best bet may be to create an employment agreement/independent contractor agreement and/or a non-disclosure or non-compete agreement that includes certain confidentiality obligations and restrictive covenants in them.
Your brand is valuable. Protecting your brand with a registered trademark is important to maximize your brand awareness and protecting consumers from inferior impostors. However, if you fail to enforce your trademark rights when they are violated, you risk losing your brand name to genericide. Protecting your brand from the beginning is essential.
Early in their life cycles, startups are often strapped for cash, and you may think that you can take on the legal work yourself rather than hiring a lawyer for your start. An experienced startup attorney is a valuable asset to your business.
A trademark is a symbol, design, word, or phrase that distinguishes one business’s products from another. A service mark is a symbol, design, word, or phrase that distinguishes one business’s services from another. The term “trademark” is commonly used to refer to both trademarks and service marks in the United States. Trademarks have common-law rights, but a business may also choose to federally register its trademark for enhanced protection.
Your Intellectual Property (IP) is a valuable asset for your business. In the digital age, you need to protect your IP from infringement, misappropriation or the like. The type of protection you need depends on the type of IP involved.