When it comes to your intellectual property, how do you make sure what happens in the company stays in the company? Florida law is on your side—if you know how to use it. Here are some of the most effective methods your company can use to protect its products, its brand, and its confidential information.
1) Defining Your Employer-Employee Relationship
Is it possible for employees to use their inside knowledge against your company? Depending on the type of employee and the access they have to your company’s information, you may want to include provisions about IP in your employment agreements. While most employment agreements state that your company owns all work produced by your employees, you might also want to include a non-compete agreement to prevent employees from creating businesses similar to yours. This ensures that your employees can’t exploit your company’s information for a certain period of time after they’ve quit.
2) Filing For Patents
Patents can protect inventions like machines, processes, designs, and even new species of plants. You can generally only patent something that the average person wouldn’t be able to reproduce. Your patent gives you the exclusive right to make, use, sell, and import the invention or design. When you offer a new product for sale or announce it to the public, you have one year to file a patent application with the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). If your key competitors are outside the United States, you should look into international patents.
3) Understanding Copyright
You can protect “original works of authorship”—like books, art, music, photos, web pages, and software—with the correct use of copyright law. Your exclusive rights allow you to reproduce the work, perform or display it in public, and distribute the copies or recordings for money. Generally, the person who creates the work owns the copyright. If that person is your employee, it usually means your company owns the work; and if that person is an independent contractor, you can only claim the rights to that work if you both signed a valid work-for-hire agreement beforehand. You can register copyrights by submitting an application and fee to the Registrar of Copyrights.
4) Enforcing Your Trademarks
Trademarks may be used to protect words, names, or symbols used to identify your company’s products. They help you distinguish your brand from others. Some marks can even be sounds, specific colors, or a mascot like the Pillsbury Doughboy, provided they are iconic or recognizable enough. You receive and maintain trademark rights simply by using the mark. That said, you should register your trademark with the PTO for added benefits, and enforce your registered mark by legally confronting those who copy your mark or use a similar that’s likely to cause confusion.
5) Protecting Trade Secrets
Companies like Coca-Cola are notorious for keeping their trade secrets under tight lock and key. Other examples include Google’s search algorithm and the formula for WD-40. Your company can do the same through the judicious use of confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements. When someone works with you and gains access to your company’s trade secrets, you can use those documents to make sure the person doesn’t reveal your confidential information to the public. While your trade secret protection ends once the secret becomes publicly known, you can seek legal reparations for the harm that was caused as a result.
With some of these methods, particularly trademarks and patents, it’s important to act quickly to make sure your company takes priority in the application process. It’s also key to seek the counsel of an attorney who specializes in intellectual property. Contact the law offices of Ser & Associates to discuss your company’s needs and get comprehensive legal protection for your products, branding, and secrets.
