Do I Really Need to Protect My Intellectual Property? Intellectual Property Lawyers in Philadelphia, PA Explains Why
Whether you are an inventor, artist, creator, or business, you know how expensive it is to create your unique product, literary work, logo, slogan, or other vital assets. These are all forms of intellectual property that you can use to sell or market your services. As expensive as they are to create, you also probably know that it is costly to protect these important assets by obtaining a patent, copyright, trademark, or other protection. While it may be tempting to save on these expenses, you could be making a big mistake. Especially if your product or business starts to “trend” or grow in market share, or even just catches the attention of an unscrupulous individual or business looking to steal good ideas. Our intellectual property attorneys in Philadelphia, PA, have seen this happen far too often.
And it often results in more costs for an inventor, artist, creator, or business than it would have if the proper IP protections were in place. That is why Paul & Paul has been advising individuals and businesses on obtaining and defending IP rights for a combined 170 years of practice experience. Our intellectual property lawyers in Philadelphia, PA, have not only protected IP rights throughout the United States, but with our international partners, we have a global reach to ensure your hard work is not stolen or misappropriated overseas. Learn how we can help you and your business protect your IP rights today during a FREE consultation.
Why Do I Need to Protect My Product, Work, or Business?
Intellectual property rights are not like owning a piece of real property like a house or personal property such as a baseball, which you can hold. Intellectual property rights are intangible assets, they do not exist in a form that you can grab and possess. This means that others can steal your IP rights more easily, such as your invention schematics, book, photographs, paintings, logo, slogan, or other intangible assets.
When that happens, an infringer can use your work for their own financial gain—profiting off your hard work, money, and business goodwill. Not only can they skim money away from you, but they could also irreparably damage your name or your business’ name, causing you to lose money in other ways.
Having IP rights over your intangible assets can allow you to quickly enforce your rights and make violators pay for their wrongful actions. It can also show customers that you affirmatively own the rights to your invention, products, logo, slogan, and other rights, creating trust in your brand.
Top Reasons Why To Protect Your IP Rights
There are many reasons why to protect your IP rights. Here are the most important that our intellectual property attorneys in Philadelphia, PA, want you to know about:
Protect Your Work from Theft or Infringers
This is the most prominent and common reason to obtain IP rights, but it cannot be stated enough. Obtaining a patent, copyright, or trademark allows you to prevent others from profiting off your hard work by stealing your ideas and your content. Without these protections, your work and your business are exposed and could be stolen by others for their financial gain. This means someone could “deconstruct” your invention, figure out how it works, submit a patent, and then obtain the patent rights even though it is your invention. If you do not have it protected, this is a very real risk.
Create an Income Stream
Having IP rights also allows you to create an income stream from your intellectual property through licensing agreements. For example, if you hold an important patent, you may be able to license it to a third-party to use to create the product to sell. Depending on the agreement, you will be able to obtain a percentage of their sales or receive an upfront payment.
Increase Business Profits
IP rights will allow your business to grow and allow you to protect your logo, slogan, and other identifying features of your business. This means you can franchise your business or increase its marketability if you hope to sell it in the future. Without the IP rights, it may deter sellers or investors.
Do You Have IP Rights You Want to Protect? Call Us to Learn More
If you have any unprotected intellectual property, call our experienced intellectual property lawyers at Paul & Paul to learn how we can obtain a patent, trademark, copyright, or any other IP right that you may need. We have over 170 years of combined experience and can help individuals and businesses throughout the United States and around the globe. Learn more by calling (866) 201-8191 or by sending us a message with our easy-to-use contact us box available here.