Running a small business comes with its fair share of challenges. Managing the different aspects, such as operations, marketing, customer service, etc, are the traditional concentration points of business owners. 

Little or no consideration is usually given to an equally important aspect of business life: protecting intellectual property. This would be a costly mistake to your small business. Intellectual properties are intangible assets having value sometimes greater in monetary terms than physical assets.

Hence, conducting an intellectual property audit with the help of a business attorney is essential to safeguarding your business’s valuable assets.

This article examines the significance of intellectual property audit as a means of protecting the assets of a business and the role of a business lawyer in achieving it.

Why Intellectual Property Matters

Intellectual property is more than just a legal concept—it is the lifeblood of innovation and creativity in a business. It could be a catchy brand name, a unique product design, or a proprietary process. 

Your IP differentiates you from competitors and adds value to your business. Without proper protection, you risk losing your competitive edge, not to mention potential legal battles that could drain your resources. Failing to safeguard your IP is akin to exposing the soul of your business to robbers!

The Role of an Intellectual Property Audit

An intellectual property audit is a thorough review of your business’s IP assets. It can be viewed as a check-up for your business’s creative heart and soul. It is about identifying what IP you own, assessing its value, and making sure it is adequately shielded from external manipulation or takeover. This process helps you uncover likely risks and take proactive steps to secure your IP before someone else tries to claim it.

For small business owners, especially those looking to grow their business, an IP audit is quite essential. It is not an “abstract” concept meant just for large corporations; small businesses also need to protect their ideas, products, branding, and other distinctive markers.

How a Business Attorney Can Help

Sailing through the legal waters of intellectual property can be tricky. It is in such situations that the professional guidance of a business lawyer becomes invaluable. They have the expertise to guide you through IP law puzzles and ensure that your business’s assets are fully protected. During IP audit, a business lawyer can help in:

• Identifying Your Intellectual Property

The first step in an IP audit is to identify what intellectual property the business actually owns. This might include trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and even domain names. 

An experienced small business attorney can help in pointing out assets you might not have seen as an intellectual property, and thereby ensure that everything valuable is accounted for.

• Assessing the Strength of Your IP Protection

After pinpointing the only markers that qualify to be called intellectual property, the business lawyer then assesses how well protected they are. At this point also, your lawyer probes to know if the business’s trademarks are properly registered, your inventions are patented and how secure the business’s brand is.

 Assessment of the adequacy of the current IP protection is also done, and improvements are suggested where necessary. The attorney may recommend filing for additional trademarks, patents, or even reworking contracts to better protect trade secrets.

• Addressing Potential Infringements

Another important role that your business lawyer can play is detecting potential infringements and taking proper action to address them promptly. Whether it is an infringement by a competitor using a similar brand name or a former employee taking trade secrets to a new job, your attorney can guide on the best course of action to protect your rights.

• Ensuring Compliance with IP Laws

Intellectual property laws are knotty and vary from state to state and from countries to countries. In the United States, federal and state laws interplay to regulate Intellectual property-related matters.

This can potentially complicate your compliance efforts, and only the expertise of a reputable business lawyer can help ensure the business does not fall short of the relevant IP laws governing its activities. This is especially important if you plan to expand your business or get a lawyer to help set up an LLC that operates in multiple states or countries.

• Preparing for Growth and Investment

Small business owners who plan to expand their businesses, attract investors or put the business up for mergers and acquisitions M&A transactions must prioritize having a strong IP portfolio. An IP audit conducted by a business attorney can help spot any weaknesses in your IP protection and work out a solution before they become a problem. Investors and buyers will not commit their resources to your business, unless they are certain that all tangible and intangible assets of the organization are well secured. 

Imagine a competitor copying your product design and selling it at a lower price, or a former employee starting a competing business using your trade secrets. Without proper IP protection, you may have little recourse in these situations.

Legal battles over IP can be costly and time-consuming, especially if you don’t have your protections in place from the start. By conducting an intellectual property audit with the help of a business attorney, you can avoid these risks and keep your business on solid ground.

Conclusion

The business environment has become more dynamic (due to the influence of technology) and highly competitive, making the protection of your intellectual property more important than ever. 

Failing to protect your intellectual property can have serious consequences, including legal battles, which characteristically drains time and resources. 

An IP audit carried out by a business attorney can help you identify their IP assets, assess their safe keeping, and address any potential risk factor they observe. This will help you avoid court cases and also strengthen the value and competitive edge your business will have.