True or false:
«Marconi invented the radio.»
If you said «true», you’d be wrong—Alexander Popov and Nikola Tesla actually invented the radio!
But Marconi stole Popov and Tesla’’s credit for the radio when they failed to get US patents.
DON’T let this happen to you!
It’s extraordinarily important to protect your intellectual property.
Here are the best ways to do this:
- Copyright
- This is a very common way to protect your IP. It gives you, and only you, the legal permission to duplicate creative work for a limited amount of time. It is illegal for any other party to duplicate it without your written consent to do so.
- Trademark
- A trademark is a way to protect the kind of IP that identifies your company.
Logos, slogans, or any other recognizable signs of your brand.
- Provisional patent
- A provisional patent (PPA) is a placeholder application that demonstrates that you are first to file for your idea. This is important because it allows you the time necessary to get the legal details ironed out until you are granted a patent pending.
- Patent pending
- This shows that you have already filed for a patent with a patent office, but your official patent is yet to be issued.
- Patent
Once you are granted a patent, it means that your company is the only entity who can legally manufacture and sell your invention, and it excludes any other entity from legally doing so for a set period of time.
As you can see, protecting your intellectual property can be an extensive process, BUT…
It’s entirely worth it, if you don’t want to end up like Tesla and Popov and their stolen, yet world-changing invention of the radio.
Do you want to have a step-by-step action plan how to protect your intellectual property? Send me a message!