The heart of your business may well be its intellectual property ("IP"). IP is simply the legal property in the innovation in your business and it is that innovation which drives your revenue and profit growth.
Your IP needs a regular health check. It should be identified and protected so that the heart of your business is not at risk. Consider just a few potential dangers to your IP:
- you fail to register company names or business names as trade marks;
- you do not register your trade marks for all good or services you supply;
- your major trade marks are not protected in key countries;
- you do not own the copyright in your key software or website;
- you are unaware of the moral rights of your employees;
- some of your patents and designs are owned by defunct companies;
- you are destroying the novelty of your inventions and designs through poor secrecy procedures;
- you do not include IP provisions in your employment agreements.
Any of the above potential dangers can lead to a business heart attack when it is least expected. We suggest that you sit down with your legal practitioner and have a heart-to-heart chat about your IP. Remedial action can be quick and relatively inexpensive. Failure to remedy the malady can be fatal.
Swaab Attorneys offers its clients a free IP Heath Check. One of our lawyers will be happy to visit you and go through a simple checklist. This is a free service which should take no more than an hour or so to complete. Your business deserves it.
For further information please contact:
Eric Ziehlke, Partner
Phone: +61 2 9233 5544
Email: EJZ@SWAAB.COM.AU
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.