Why you need to protect your ideas
Larry Page, co-owner of Google, said: “If you have a unique idea for a startup, don’t wait for someone else to steal it. Protect your rights so you can use your idea in the future”.
A startup is creativity, creativity, but the main thing is an idea. Every startup begins its journey with an idea that originates in the head, and through a plan and actions, an object is created, which will then be protected by law. Why is it important to take care of the protection of rights even before this idea acquires a material character?
Intellectual property rights not only protect your idea from being copied and used by others, but can also help you protect your investment and increase the value of your startup or product as a whole.
If you have intellectual property rights, they can become an additional advantage that will give you a competitive advantage in the market, increase the trust of customers and investors, and make your business more attractive to potential buyers or partners.
Protected startup rights are a tool for finding investors who will be interested in your business and in the future will be able to provide you with financial resources to develop your idea.
How to protect startup rights more effectively
First, you should clearly define who has what role in your project, because a lot depends on this in the future.
It might look like this:
- The founder of the idea. The one who can safely be called the brain of the team, the one who created the idea.
- Hands of idea. It can be both the Performer and another person who brings the idea to life.
- Investor. This is the person/persons who are interested in your project. If they are interested in your idea, they can provide you with financial support to develop the project.
With each participant involved in the project, you need to sign a certain agreement, which primarily guarantees the protection of you and other persons in case of misunderstandings, violations, etc.
What are the types of contracts?
In fact, it is possible to work without a contract/agreement, BUT there are nuances during work, such as uncertainty of duties, force majeure, misunderstandings, conflicts, violations of rights, etc. A contract or agreement gives you the opportunity, firstly, to protect your rights and the rights of your startup, and secondly, it also protects the rights of other people who were/will be involved in your project.
What types of deals can be offered?
First is the NDA. This is a non-disclosure agreement for your startup’s confidential information. Why is this agreement important? Because it will ensure the protection of your project and its information if, for example, you want to share confidential information with your employees, investors, etc.
In addition to an NDA, an NCA can be offered to protect confidential information and personal data between you and the counterparty.
You should also remember – MOU – This contract establishes the general agreement of the parties. The contract defines the goals of the project, tasks, rights and obligations of the parties.
Intellectual Property Agreement (IP) – This agreement governs the transfer of intellectual property rights from your startup to the counterparty, if applicable.
Franchise agreement. If your startup offers a business model that can be replicated elsewhere, a franchise agreement can protect your brand and business model from being copied by others.
What rights arise and how exactly to protect them
The main types of intellectual property that can be important to startups are patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets.
- For patent protection, a startup can apply for a patent to obtain exclusive rights to an invention. This may include technical solutions, processes or products that are new and non-obvious. Patents can protect a startup from competitors trying to copy their innovation.
- Copyright can be expressed in literary works, music, software and many other types of creativity. If a startup has a unique design, visual and audiovisual advertising, videos, photos and graphics, then they can (read – should) be protected by copyright.
- Trademarks (trademarks) must be protected for product names, logos and slogans. They help identify the brand and make it recognizable in the market.
- Trade secrets include production secrets, confidential information about customers, pricing policy and other important details. Protecting confidential information can help prevent competitors from copying or using such information.
In Ukraine, there are a number of laws and regulations regulating the protection of intellectual property rights, including for startups, so if an idea exists, it is necessary to protect everything at the nascent stage. In addition, the Ukrainian legislature is working on improving the legislation on the protection of intellectual property, in particular on the protection of rights to software and innovative technologies.
If you neglect simple rules and do not properly protect the rights of your startup (even if the startup is still in the initial stages of development and implementation), you will face quite a lot of problems both externally and internally. Lawsuits, illegal encroachments, plagiarism, audits by tax authorities, leakage of valuable information, lack of clearly defined rights and obligations of the parties can cause the collapse of the company, project, embodied idea – your startup.
For legal support, we advise the offending person to contact lawyers – who will become your friends in the world of complex legal norms, but will give timely advice on how to protect intellectual property.
copyright / intellectual property / protection of rights / startup
