In the present time, startups are facing several challenges for growing their business. One of the biggest challenges faced by startups is to protect their intellectual property rights. As a startup innovates and develops a new product or process for its business purpose, it becomes important for the owner of a startup to secure its product or process from others so that they can do their business peacefully. In this article, we are going to discuss the intellectual property rights of a startup which can help them to secure their invention.
Introduction
A startup which is newly registered can have intellectual assets, including new inventions, industrial designs, software, brand names or logos, etc. There can be other intellectual properties like trade secrets, which need to be protected under intellectual property rights. To protect these assets, a startup needs to use several types of intellectual, properties like patents, designs, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets.
Importance of IPR for Startups
Intellectual property rights provide exclusive rights to a startup for their creations and inventions. By protecting their inventions, startups can do many things like
Brand identity
A startup establishes a brand identity in the market by securing its name or logo with the help of a trademark or copyright.
Securing trade secret
A startup can secure its trade secret with the help of a unique intellectual property right which is a trade secret. A startup can run its business smoothly after taking the rights over its secrets.
Generate Revenue
By securing its invention and creation a startup can generate money by selling making and using its secured product or processes and services
Prevention of competitors
Once a startup gets rights over its invention or creation, it is eligible to prevent its competitors from making using or selling the same product or service in the market for a certain period.
Types of Intellectual Property Rights
There are many unusual types of intellectual property rights but for a startup to secure its inventions or creations. It needs only four unique types of intellectual property rights that are:
Patents
A patent is a right which protects the invention and innovation by giving the exclusive right to manufacture use and sell their invention for a specific period which is 20 years from the date of filing a startup. After filing a patent application for the invention, one can use such right.
Copyright
Copyright is also a type of intellectual property which safeguards the original work of an author including software code, artistic work, literary work, or any musical composition. So, if a startup has some kind of work related to copyright, then they should take such right over there, creation or original work.
Trademarks
Trademark is used to secure the brand names, logos, slogans, and other identifications, which distinguish the startup products and services from other competitors.
Trade secret
Trade secrets secure confidential information related to the business or startup such as formulas as algorithms, customer lists or it can be the manufacturing process of a unique product.
These are some of the types of IPRs, which can be used by a startup to protect their creations or inventions so that they can stop their competitors from stealing their inventions.
IP strategies for startups
So now let us discuss some strategies which can be used by a startup to secure their inventions.
Identification of intellectual assets
A startup should conduct an inventory of its intellectual assets to identify the innovations and creations which can be protected under intellectual property rights.
Securing the invention
After finding the creations and inventions which could be secure with the help of IPRs, the startup must file the applications for patent copyright, trademark, and trade secrets according to their needs to protect the diverse types of creations.
Business strategies
After securing the inventions, a startup should develop comprehensive intellectual property strategies to sell their creations and products. A startup can use diverse types of licenses to sell their product and services. For example, a startup can give the exclusive license to other parties for a product which was patented by the startup itself so that by selling its License the startup earns the royalty over its invention.
Enforcement of rights
A startup should actively monitor and enforce their intellectual property rights by taking legal actions against the persons who are infringing on their products the startups are also eligible to file a suit against infringers to protect their innovations and protect their market position.
These are some necessary steps and strategies which can be used by a startup to secure their invention and prevent competitors from copying and stealing their ideas.
Challenges and considerations
There are some challenges which can be faced by a startup while taking the help to protect their inventions.
Cost constraint
Startups often have limited sources to protect their intellectual property assets. The startup can face financial problems. Although the fees to protect the invention or creation are not much, sometimes it may happen that with a small budget, a startup can face problems in securing the invention.
Legal complexity
Protecting intellectual property assets can be a complex procedure for a person who does not belong to this field. So, it is always suggested that you hire a patent agent to secure your invention. Otherwise, the person will face problems while following the process of registration.
International consideration
As we know intellectual property laws are not the same in every country so it could be a challenge for a startup that is going to operate their business globally because they must understand the IP Laws from every country where they need to protect their invention.
Conclusion
Intellectual property rights are invaluable assets for a startup and the Entertainment Industry because most startups and businesses are working on modern technologies that need to be protected under different intellectual property rights. By prioritising the management and protection of these assets, the startup can safeguard its position in the market for the long term and the growth of its businesses. After reading this article, we can say that intellectual property rights are one of the major pillars for startups to secure invention so that the competitor cannot use their products to grow their business.