# The Importance of Protecting your Intellectual Property

- Link: https://www.lumlawgroup.com/importance-protecting-intellectual-property/
- Published: 2018-01-02T08:53:27-08:00
- Author: Albert J Lum

Intellectual property refers to creations of the intellect for which a monopoly 
is assigned to designated owners by law. Intellectual property rights are the rights
granted to the creators of Intellectual property and include:

 * trademarks,
 * copyright,
 * patents,
 * industrial design rights, and
 * in some jurisdictions trade secrets.
 * Artistic works including music and literature,
 * as well as discoveries,
 * inventions,
 * words,
 * phrases,
 * symbols, and
 * designs, can all be protected as intellectual property.

Intellectual property has a very broad scope and thus it can be said that Intellectual
property rights include patents, copyright, industrial design rights, trademarks,
plant variety rights, trade dress, geographical indications, and in some jurisdictions
trade secrets. There are also more specialized or derived varieties of _sui generis_
exclusive rights, such as circuit design rights (called mask work rights in the 
US) and supplementary protection certificates for pharmaceutical products (after
the expiry of a patent protecting them) and database rights (in European law).

> [df_blockquote ver=”1″ border_size=”4px” color=”#0F0F0F”]All businesses have intellectual
> property, regardless of their size or sector.[/df_blockquote]

Thus, it goes without saying that all businesses have intellectual property, regardless
of their size or sector. This could be the name of your business, copyright, designs,
patents, and trademarks. Your Intellectual property is likely to be a valuable asset.
Securing and protecting it could be essential to your business’ future success. 
In the other words, Intellectual property often translates directly to monetary 
gain. If you don’t know how to adequately protect your intellectual property, your
business is at risk.

[df_blockquote ver=”1″ border_size=”4px” color=”#0F0F0F”]Intellectual property often
translates directly to monetary gain. [/df_blockquote]

The importance of protecting your Intellectual property can be more easily understood
as follows: if you do not protect it, you will have to risk the losing one of the
following:

 1. **Branding:** Establishing a strong brand is pivotal to business success. Protecting
    that brand is equally important. The name of your company and its logo are part
    of the branding that sets your business apart. Elements of your brand, from your
    company name to your logo can be subsumed and eroded. This can damage perceptions
    in the market of your quality, products, and reputation.
 2. **Products:** Unique investments that you’ve made developing technologies may be
    compromised; only through proper patenting, etc. can you ensure that you control
    and can market the products you develop.
 3. **Ideas and thought leadership:** Protecting original contributions to the thinking
    around your industry can be an important step to establishing your company as a
    market leader. Copyrights ensure proper attribution of your materials.

As such, there is no doubt that, in a business, intellectual property is everywhere.
The name that you choose will be your trademark, even the smallest new process created
within your firm may be patentable, and much of the creative work of your employees
will be protected by copyright. Protecting your intellectual property rights is 
protecting your business, so you must claim your intellectual property rights before
it’s too late.

Have questions? Talk to an experienced intellectual property attorney today! [Contact us](https://lumlawgroup.com/Staging/Contact-us).