Creating intellectual property is the bundle of legal rights that come from the human mind being creative. Intellectual property has an essential part in a country's economic prosperity. It may also be a force that motivates those who are creative to share their ideas with society. This is one of the essential components of a start up's business.

How Intellectual Property Works

Some founders don't give intellectual property the attention it should get, while others defend theirs in a counterproductive manner. This is why it's essential for the owners of a business to have an understanding of this concept when they're first starting off. It's an intangible asset, and the value is normally based on criteria that's fairly subjective. Personal and real property rights help to keep ownership interests in intangible objects protected, this includes the following:

  • Musical score for a play
  • Logo or name to brand a product
  • The idea behind an invention

If these rights aren't enforced, it will be hard for society to prosper and flourish. When people think of intellectual property rights, things like trademarks, copyrights, and patents tend to come to mind. This main set of intellectual property rights protect the creative ideas of authors, inventors, as well as owners and sellers of services and goods in a marketplace. 

Each type of intellectual property is distinct, but there's a common set of principles that they share. A delicate balance is required for an award of trademark, patent, or copyright protection. The interests of the author or inventor and the interest of the whole society also require a delicate balance. This balance is similar to tradeoff laws that are required by zoning laws. Public right of ways and utility easements are good examples of this. 

If a patent is made on a crucial invention that's for a life-saving drug, the grant represents a similar tradeoff. It should be discussed if it's fair for the inventor to give society free access to this drug or if it's fair for society to be denied access in the name of the greater good. Intellectual property law helps to harmonize any conflicting interests and provides a competitive marketplace.

Intellectual property does this by disclosure of innovation from protecting the profits of the creation for a certain period of time. This disclosure lets others improve and build upon their previous innovation so that it continues to evolve and develop. Without the benefits of intellectual property protection, the marketplace won't operate as efficiently or effectively. If every competitor had to "reinvent the wheel" on a continuous basis instead of being able to refine and improve others' work, it would be difficult. Intellectual property rights are by nature regional and their conditions enforced.

Using Intellectual Property to Create Value

When an enterprise has protected and created their distinctive signs, which can be more than one industrial design, they need to decide what to do with the objects of intellectual property protection. They may have also found a geographical indication under which they'll market their services and goods. The company needs to find creative ways to bring their business value. One of the most important things to do with intellectual property assets is to look at them as tools that will help develop the brand image for the services and goods it provides.

An enterprise, whether it's not-for-profit, for-profit, medium-sized, or a geographical region or country, can develop a brand image. Many entrepreneurs don't understand how powerful a brand image is when it comes to promoting and marketing their services and goods. Some may realize this but decide to focus their priorities somewhere else. They might want to focus their resources on other parts of the business, such as development and research.

Some entrepreneurs may not know how to develop a brand image or incorrectly believe that brand development is only reserved for large, multi-national enterprises. This attitude can, unfortunately, prove fatal for the business. The commercial value of a brand can't be underestimated, as experience has shown. The brand is the main nexus of communication between a company and its consumers. Developing the brand's image should be one of the first priorities.

If you need help with creating intellectual property, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.