December 19, 2024
As a business owner, safeguarding your intellectual property is an important step for long-term success. Intellectual property includes the rights to creative ideas or inventions turned into something tangible — patents protect inventions, trademarks safeguard your brand, and copyrights cover creative works like designs and written content. Trade secrets, while unregistered, are critical to many businesses. Each of these contributes to your business’s unique value, which you want to keep safe from being copied or used without permission.
Identify Your Intellectual Property
The first step is identifying the type of IP protection your business needs. Resources like the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s IP Identifier Tool and Patent and Trademark Resource Centers can help determine which of the following protections best fits your situation:
- Patent: legal rights granting an inventor control over how their new invention is made, used, or sold for a certain period of time.
- Copyright: legal protection giving creators the exclusive right to control how their original works, like books, music, or movies, are used or shared.
- Trademark: a registered symbol, word, phrase, or design that distinguishes and identifies the source of goods or services, helping to safeguard your brand from misuse.
- Trade secret: confidential information, like formulas, processes, or strategies, that gives a competitive advantage to a business and is protected by keeping it private.
Secure Intellectual Property Rights
Once identified, secure your IP rights. Resources like the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Copyright Office, and the Utah Department of Commerce’s Utah Trademark offer state and federal IP registration options.
If you plan to operate globally, remember that IP protection is region-specific. Organizations, including the World Intellectual Property Organization, provide guidance on international IP policies and best practices.
Utah Resources for Entrepreneurs
Utah entrepreneurs can leverage resources like the USPTO Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach Office or Mi Casa Resource Center for affordable or free IP assistance. Local Patent and Trademark Resource Centers, such as those at the University of Utah and Utah Tech University, are valuable resources offering IP guidance tailored to Utah entrepreneurs.
Protecting your intellectual property may be a strategic investment and necessity for your company’s growth. By utilizing resources and taking proactive steps, you can safeguard your ideas, strengthen your brand, and ensure your business remains relevant in a competitive market.
A special thanks to the Salt Lake City Patent and Trademark Resource Center at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library for valuable insights into intellectual property resources and protections.
The information in this article is current as of the publishing date and is intended for informational purposes only. This article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal, tax, or business advice. Any resources and organizations mentioned, unless an entity of or a partner of the state of Utah, are not formally endorsed by the Startup State Initiative or state of Utah.