IP Resources

Intellectual property (IP) is a creation of the mind that has value for the creator or for the creator’s business. This term covers a lot of specific types of human creativity. Well-known IP categories include creations such as inventions, artistic works, designs, and brand identifiers for your business.

There are four general categories of IP: 1) Patents for public-facing invention 2) Trade secrets for inventions and other creations that are kept secret 3) Copyrights for literary works, images, and artistic creations 4) Trademarks for words, images, or other indicators that identify the goods and services of a business to distinguish it from others.

Intellectual property (IP) lies at the heart of your livelihood. Some types of intellectual property are outward-facing, such as the technologies that your business creates, the brands that identify your business, or the creative works that you bring to the public. Other forms of IP are more internally focused, such as the “secret sauce” or the internal workings of your company or its products.

You created your intellectual property, so you should be able to take advantage of it. That means you need to think about how to protect it, monetize it, and even assert it against others. You’ve built a company with your business goals in mind. The IP that you and your company create will help you achieve these goals.

First you should identify your IP assets. Next you should categorize them. Here are the available categories: patents, trade secrets, copyrights, and trademarks. Taking inventory is your first step, and it will point you towards the mechanisms for protecting the types of IP you have. With the inventory in place, you can more readily match your assets to your business goals. Explora IP can help you with each step of this process.

The legal protections for IP are usually complicated, and they require active decision-making. For example, once you figure out what IP you have, you need to make some business decisions about balancing the costs and benefits of protecting it. (See the blog section above for more info.) Given that there’s so much complexity to IP protection, we recommend that you seek expert advice in these processes through legal counsel or another trusted advisor.

At Explora IP, we can help you get started. We help you identify your company’s IP assets, link them to your company’s business goals, and map out a strategy for protecting your IP so that you can achieve your goals. With your goals in sight, we can help you reach them. We will also teach you about IP as you progress towards your goals, and hopefully make it fun at the same time.