Just like your tangible assets, your Intellectual Property (IP) is valuable and should be protected. IP laws provide the tools and structure for protecting and enforcing IP rights. However, rights owners must actively protect their rights.
IP includes trademarks, patents, copyright, and trade secrets.
Every owner of IP rights must do the following:
1. Invest in protecting your IP rights – register your IP in the official IP registries of your country.
2. Monitor, protect, and enforce your IP against others. Just as you would install a house or car alarm, and take care to secure those assets from possible theft, you must do the same with your IP assets. While there are regulations to protect and enforce your IP rights, the monitoring is largely up to you. You must be vigilant, otherwise, you may lose your IP rights.
3. Do not ‘borrow’ anything without permission, especially something off the internet. Because someone has put their IP protected work in a public domain does not mean that it is public property. It is most likely owned by someone else, so ensure that you use things from the internet in conformity with IP law.
4. Conduct an IP self-audit. This helps you take stock of your IP rights as well as business policies and all third party agreements concerning them. If you can afford one, it is advisable to use a lawyer knowledgeable in the area of IP to conduct the audit for you and your business.
