Theft is a large cause for concern when it comes to running a business. It can drive even the most successful company down the drain.
This is why so many business owners place so much emphasis on security. They will fit their commercial premises with CCTV cameras to ensure that customers aren’t shoplifting from them.
Many will also fit CCTV in areas that are only accessible by staff, as studies, reports, and statistics have shown that employees can often steal from companies too.
They will hire security staff to monitor doors and shop floors. Another increasingly popular means of protection is fitting brick and mortar stores with metal shutters and alarm systems, preventing entry out of hours and triggering alerts should someone manage to make their way in.
But it is important to remember that physical theft isn’t the only threat to your small business. Theft of ideas can also cause major problems as time goes on. Unfortunately, the bigger your brand becomes, the more people are likely to try to rip you off. But what can you do about this?
Intellectual Property
Legally speaking, you can actually take action against the theft of ideas and you should contact successful business litigation lawyers if you feel that you are the victim of theft of ideas. Your ideas can legally be your intellectual property, also known as IP for short. You have invested hard time and effort into coming up with them and a whole lot of money into bringing them to reality. It is not fair for someone else to then just take all of this and make profit from it themselves.
Copyrighting
A preliminary step that you should take to prevent someone stealing your ideas is to copyright your ideas. You can usually do this through your home nation’s regulating authorities.
The people working at these institutions will be able to ensure that you are the first person to have come up with these ideas. They will check whether names, concepts, color schemes, or other intellectual property is already copyrighted.
If there is no current copyright on your ideas, you can legally lay claim to them. If somebody tries to use your ideas for profit, you can then have cease and desist letters issued and they will have to put an end to their illicit trade.
Patenting
If you have actually invented something completely new, you can patent it. This is a right given to the inventor by the government and prevents others from profiting from the invention for a set period of time. This gives the inventor the opportunity to launch the product and establish themselves as the name in the field that is associated with it. Engaging with patenting allows you to profit the most out of your invention.
Trademarking
If you want to protect your brand identity itself rather than products, you can trademark it, alongside any brand logos that you may use. This helps to ensure that products are identified as belonging to your company as opposed to anyone else’s.
Sure, intellectual property might not be tangible. You might not be able to hold it. But you can own it. So, take the above advice to ensure that nobody else profits unfairly from your hard work and ideas!
