In many small businesses, intellectual property is an overlooked asset. The goodwill from your company name, computer programs you have written, articles, manuals, or books that you have written, logos, advertising copy, methods you have used or processes to create your products or services, all should be closely examined in conjunction with a qualified intellectual property attorney, to decide how much value they are to your business, and how they should be properly protected.
There are many different disciplines under which your intellectual property can be protected. These include copyright, trademark, trade secret, method patents, design patents, product patents, and others. You can also consult with your intellectual property attorney to decide whether or not to extend your intellectual property protection world wide, or just keep it national.
If your business could be impacted by competitors copying your name, your logo, your products, your services, or anything else integral to your business' success, you owe it to yourself, your employees and your shareholders to protect it in the strongest way possible. Fine yourself a good intellectual property attorney with specific knowledge of your particular business genre who can help you "lock down" your investment.
What Should You Look For in an Intellectual Property Attorney?
Intellectual property is a field in which an attorney has to know not only the law, but must also have a sense about the potential client's business goals, practices, and ethical stance. These elements are not always obvious, so it is in the client's best interest to inquire in an initial interview not only how long s/he has been practicing this particular type of law, but also what type of businesses the intellectual property attorney has had experience with, as well as how "gung ho" the attorney is. For example, if your business wishes to take a balanced view of protection, going after only infringers that you feel are causing serious damage, if your intellectual property attorney delights in dropping nuclear bomb style threat letters on indigent college students and little old ladies, perhaps you would do better with an attorney more in line with your personal ethical structure.
Other things to look for in an attorney include whether or not your personal communications style meshes with that of the intellectual property lawyer. A good example is email communication. Email, for many business owners, is a much more efficient and usually cheaper method of communication. As an added bonus, you have a written record of the exchange in case of later misunderstanding. If your business runs on email contact and your attorney uses pen and paper, this may not work out in your best interests.
Once You Find an Intellectual Property Attorney, Then What?
What do you do once you've found your intellectual property attorney? Communicate clearly what your objectives are and let the attorney make suggestions to you as to how to reach those objectives. Intellectual property law is often highly complex and legally technical. If you have questions, ask the intellectual property attorney. If they don't communicate with you, their client, in clear English terms, ask them to. Oftentimes, lawyers forget that they are dealing with non-lawyers and may fall back on legal jargon. If they can't explain concepts to you in a way you understand, perhaps you should find an attorney who will.
On the other hand, you should not expect your intellectual property lawyer to boil 3 years of law school and decades of experience into a fifteen minute "Cliff Notes" summary. As with all things, finding a balance where both of you are comfortable is of great importance.
As a legal client, do not forget that you are in the driver's seat. Your intellectual property attorney can't make business decisions for you. You must weigh his or her advice carefully, then make your decisions as an informed consumer of legal services. Your decisions should feel "right" to you. Insist that your intellectual property lawyer lay out the scenario to you and give you appropriate cost estimates, time estimates, and how the attorney thinks that this action (or inaction) will be of benefit to your business.
If I create something once, I better use it in at least three different ways, or I consider it a waste of time.
Now this might mean different things to different people, but here is what it means to me:
1. Save all emails you send to clients and turn them into articles. (NOTE: Better yet, make them blog posts, protecting any identities, of course. Often coaching done via email has messages for us all!)
2. Collect all posts you make on message boards and discussion lists and convert them into a Frequently Asked Questions page.
3. Gather all your articles, organize them by category and create a private membership site. (NOTE:These days that would have to include you podcast, and recent blog posts as well on the member page. Perhaps even throw in a link to transcripts of your podcast for readers.)
4. Record your teleclassess and add all of the recordings to your membership site. (NOTE:Again, I'm thinking podcast here. Or can they be cut down as a podcast and then the full version be made available for sale if you don't want to do a membership site?)
5. Turn all your articles into PDF files, burn them onto a CD and sell it as a collection of "special reports." You can also offer it as a bonus to any other product, service, or event you sell. (NOTE:Especially useful for those calls you offer at other sites in which you're not that well known yet.)
6. Create case studies based on your coaching sessions, then add them to your web site for content or as a special report for generating leads. (NOTE:Also useful for your membership site if you have one, or for podcast or blog fodder. They can, of course, be a powerful marketing tool.)
7. Design your programs (seminars, coaching, training, etc.) in modules. This way you can repackage them or sell each module individually in the future. (NOTE:The FULL and LITE versions!)
8. Videotape your live events and offer them as products or bonuses. (NOTE:Tuck in a surprise DVD with a tangible order just to say thanks. Keep in mind these transfer better over high speed connections or as tangible DVD's.)
9. Create an outline of your new information product (book or e-book). When you write your newsletter, focus each issue on a section or a chapter. By the end of 3 to 6 months, you might have your entire product completed. (NOTE:That outline, or a table of content, can also be used effectively on sales pages to really let people know what your offer is.)
10. License your materials (workshops, tools, assessments, coaching programs, systems, etc.) to other coaches and trainers to spread your brand while generating literally unlimited revenue
Every minute you spend writing, speaking or coaching, can be turned into on-going, sustainable passive revenue.
Both Mikki Barry & Suzanne Falter-barns are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mikki Barry has sinced written about articles on various topics from Patent and Trademark, Legal Matters and Intellectual Property Rights. Mikki Barry is a business and intellectual property attorney for technology and small business companies. More information is available at www.mikkibarry.com.. Mikki Barry's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.
Suzanne Falter-barns has sinced written about articles on various topics from Jewelry, Intellectual Property Rights and Home Businesses. This article was written by Milana Leshinsky ACCPOW Founder & CEO (with a few notes from Suzanne) Drop by Suzanne's blog at for almost. Suzanne Falter-barns's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.