What are the best ways to protect intellectual property?

North Carolina companies who have developed new inventions or ideas have the right to protect those ideas without fear of them being stolen by another. These ideas, often known as intellectual property, are often held close by companies who only rely on a few people to help develop and improve the product. According to Forbes, there are several ways that you can reduce risks that your intellectual property will be stolen. Copyrights, trademarks and patents are all used to protect different types of intellectual property.

One way to protect intellectual property is to obtain strong non-disclosure agreements to prevent those who work with your company from sharing your ideas and inventions as you develop them. You may want to revisit any other documents you use in your business such as sales contracts, licenses and employment agreements to make sure they cover any intellectual property you have.

Compromised credentials lead to 81% of breaches, so storing ideas, creations and manuscripts in a safe place can make a huge difference when it comes to protecting your property. Use a system with two-factor authentication or adaptive authentication with risk analysis.

In the United States, obtaining a patent means that you are the first to file your non-trade secret intellectual property. Another way to protect your property and to make sure everyone knows it is yours is to reference it widely and publish it early. This ensures that your company is always mentioned when the product or idea is brought up. You get more support for your patents if your name is always mentioned online with your intellectual property.

This is intended for educational purposes and should not be interpreted as legal advice.