Hi-tech industry is growing strong and building fortunes beyond belief by shielding their intellectual property. Be it Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Ebay the list is endless. A patent a trademark, a copyright, or a trade secret at an early stage provides these outfits a much needed protection to safeguard their intellectual property. And when it is well protected, you can bet that investors would want a piece of your cake. It can cost tens of thousands or even millions and a price that anyone who believes that their IP is unique and has tremendous potential is willing to pay.
A small start-up business that guards its intellectual property rights can in many ways become a potential threat for giant organisations that may end on the receiving end of a lawsuit.
Recently, i4i a technology start-up argued at the US Appeals Court that a ban on selling of the current versions of Microsoft Word should stand. According to the court documents filed by i4i, Microsoft had been marketing i4i’s XML software to customers and had in the process driven i4i out of business. The company claimed that Microsoft had infringed on their patent for XML technology and that it is currently being used in the latest versions of Microsoft Word.
The point of giving the example above is to bring your attention to the challenges of protecting your intellectual property right. This can get really expensive if you are not careful protecting your IP right at the outset.
Whether you are an early stage or start-up technology company or someone who believes that the IP you are creating is unique and has multi bucks potential. Then make sure you spend the time, effort and monies that are needed to secure your IP.
Links to a few useful IP websites: Offshore Software Development
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