Steve Jobs was secretive about what Apple did, and for good reason. There are people out there who would like to steal your intellectual property (IP)–competitors who would love to emulate what you have spent years to create or mold into the business idea that you own. Don’t give them that chance; it’s up to you to protect intellectual property that’s yours! Jobs was so concerned about people stealing his trade secrets that he often published erroneous press releases just to thwart the press and the public until he was ready to unveil his latest work of genius.
All businesses have intellectual property. It’s up to you to help protect it.
What does copyright guarantee
If you are a musician, artist, or business with trade secrets which you need to protect, the federal government is in the business of protecting intellectual property, as guaranteed by copyright law. These laws were established to:
- Guarantee that no one can use your work without your permission in any way, shape, or form and take credit for it.
- Guarantee that you have control over where, when, and how your work will be used.
- Give you the right to create derivative works from your original work, without the fear of others doing the same.
- Keep others from profiting from your work or stealing potential profits from you.
- Trace the authorship of a work so that there will be no doubt who created it.
These are just some of the primary reasons copyright law was instated to protect business owners, authors, musicians, writers, and other creators of intellectual words, trademarks, or original works from being stolen, copied, or misused. Many mistakenly think that if they purchased the work, they may use it however they wish. Some may think that it is okay to use the work of another so long as they give the author or holder of the copyright credit. But it is important to always read the licenses and terms of use when using the works of another. There are many misunderstood ideas about copyright law.
These laws were put in place to protect the ideas and intangible assets of entrepreneurs like you. Identifying and protecting your IP is the first thing you should do when starting your business. Start your IP Strategy with Traklight today.
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