How to protect your intellectual property when bidding

Now greater than ever, creators and entrepreneurs are harnessing the ability of digital tools and social media applications to bring their ideas to life. Remember, nevertheless, that knowing how to protect your intellectual property is equally essential for the marketing of your company, project or initiative.

To learn the way to protect your work when presenting to an organization or media network, we reached out to Art Steele, an intellectual property attorney who knows firsthand what it means to play either side of the table. Before opening her own law practice for creators and entrepreneurs, Steele spent the primary five years of her legal profession as a tax attorney, helping multi-million dollar corporations restructure their businesses, protect their digital content, and develop complex tax strategies.

Why should a small business have a lawyer firstly of its operation?

Because business lawyers help corporations grow. Contracts prevent time; time is money. Receiving payments on time (due to the contract) increases money flow; Establishing clear boundaries about who owns the intellectual property in a collaboration helps avoid potential litigation. Before you begin your business, consulting a great business lawyer to understand your situation will go a great distance and open your eyes to potential legal issues. This way, you’ll know when you would like to call a lawyer regularly.

As a creator (content creator, filmmaker, creator, etc.), chances are you’ll want to pitch your ideas to major media networks, influencers, or brands. What do you have to remember when protecting your ideas?

When presenting, keep in mind that you can’t protect ideas – only the best way they’re expressed will be protected. You can protect this expression (whether it is the name of your company, product, logo, or design) by registering your work with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or the United States Copyright Office. Registering your IP address gives you certain rights and remedies if your work is stolen.

Another way to protect your idea during a presentation is for the opposite party to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Whether or not to present an NDA is determined by how advanced your idea is. If you might have name, designs, sketches or mockups, definitely ask the opposite party to sign an NDA; if it’s still within the early stages, it’ll be hard to get a giant brand to sign an NDA, especially in case you’re proposing one.

What happens if a network decides to exploit your work without providing you with proper credit?

Whenever you contact anyone who’s taken with your work, it’s at all times a great idea to document the communication. Be sure to keep a record of all emails exchanged and any documents sent, in addition to the date and time. This will be done quite easily via email. If you are on the phone, follow up by sending an email with details in regards to the conversation. This way you should have evidence if any problems arise.

When it comes to protecting intellectual property, what’s a typical mistake that creators and entrepreneurs make?

The biggest mistake creators and entrepreneurs make is underestimating their intellectual property and subsequently not protecting it because they consider they’re too small and too unknown to trademark or protect their intellectual property. However, it is way easier to be taken advantage of in case you run a small business or are a sole proprietor. Additionally, it’s easier for larger brands to see what they’re creating online and possibly try to replicate it.

The best solution for a small business is to support the US federal government and copyright laws to protect your creative work. You do that partially by registering your trademark and/or your creative work for copyright protection and thru a well-drafted contract.