

When thinking about the value of a company, people tend to think about physical goods, supply chains, and distribution networks, or how much software that company will sell in a year. While those may be the mechanisms through which the value is delivered, often the real value lies in the underlying Intellectual Property.
Protectable Intellectual Property generally encompasses “creations of the mind,” like names, slogans, inventions, or works of art.
At its core, Intellectual Property allows creators (or owners of the IP) to benefit from their work. By giving legal protection to new creations, the government encourages further innovation by giving the owner of the work the exclusive right to profit from that work.
There are three basic types of Intellectual Property: trademarks, patents, and copyrights. Each protects a different type of creation.
Over the next couple weeks, we’ll take an in-depth look at each facet of IP protection. (Next week we’ll look at trademarks, and the week after that we’ll look at patents and copyrights. We’ll end the month with a case study.) But for now, here’s an overview of each of the different forms of IP and what they protect:
There is a fourth type of Intellectual Property that doesn’t receive explicit protection in the form of a government filing, but it can also be protected if certain criteria are met. These are known as trade secrets.
Let’s say you invented a completely new vacuum cleaner that combines the automation of the ROOMBA® vacuum with the power of a standing HOOVER® vacuum, for a completely superior cleaning experience. You could use the four forms of Intellectual Property listed above in conjunction with each other to protect each aspect of your product.
As a practical matter, it may be difficult to protect everything that you consider your Intellectual Property, and companies usually have to prioritize which pieces of IP they choose to “formally” protect.
This is especially true for startups and small businesses. When you’re first starting out, you may not have the financial resources to file for protection for all of your IP, especially if you seek the help of a lawyer for each of your filings. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t take steps to safeguard your IP rights until you’re ready to formally file.
Be sure to check next Thursday for an in-depth look at trademarks.
Copyright © 2023 SCORE Association, SCORE.org
Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.