Your intellectual property may well be the most valuable asset you own. You see, there’s a limit to what your fixed property can do for you in terms of bringing you vital revenue, while there’s practically no limit to what the right intellectual property can do for you. These intellectual properties – that include your copyrights, your patents, trade secrets, and trademarks – are vulnerable to outside entities who are attempting to utilise your IP for their own profitability. These outsiders can bear the mask of “competitive intelligence researchers” or direct competitors and are trying to find loopholes in the defence of your IP. You need to work closely with your dedicated IP lawyers to protect your IP. Here’s more on that.
Understand what IP You Have
If you are a medium or large organisation, you must communicate to every employee in your setup what IP you have and what needs to be done to better protect it. The heads of every department must get together to review the intellectual properties that they manage and the strategy that they need to implement. The CEO and the COO must also be kept in the loop about the IP that needs to be protected and a consultation session with reputed IP lawyers will only help you make progress in that endeavour.
Locate Your IP and Create a System
You may know what your IP is; you may store it to keep it safe. But, you may be overlooking other areas where it can be located and misused. Go through your printers, scanners, and input devices to check if these documents are lying unattended. Create proper rules with regards to how your employees use company IP and take it home in their personal devices. The same is also applicable to your clients who also have access to your IP, and the contracts that you enter in must specify rules that relate to the use of IP.
Label and Prioritise Valuable IP
If your company has multiple intellectual properties under its belt, you must properly chart them out and identify the ones with the most value. Through a professional cost-benefit analysis, you can better identify the information that is most sensitive to you and how losing that particular information can be damaging to your interests. Furthermore, you should label the information that is meant to be confidential; it strengthens your case in an event where you’re up against someone in court.
Better Secure Your IP
You now have the means to secure your IP digitally, alongside storing it physically. The physical spaces that store your IP must be accessed by very limited people. And lastly, use the most advanced physical locking systems, protective software, and passwords to protect those spaces where you’ve stored your IP.The unspoken rule of effectively protecting your IP doesn’t need a mention. We know you understand the importance of entrusting these duties to an experienced team of IP lawyers here at Prowse Barrette (Previously Prowse Chowne). Contact us to learn what we can do for you.