Defending your rights: Why protecting intellectual property is crucial

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By Najla Guthrie

In today’s marketplace, it would appear that more and more companies are not respecting the privileges that intellectual property and patent protection provide. For companies who file for this protection, it is their intent to enjoy exclusivity in the marketplace for the duration of the protection, at which time, others are welcome to enter the market. For many, an incredible amount of time and resources have been invested into the research and development of this new product or technology, not to mention the patent and legal fees associated. Regardless of having this protection, it is alarming how many suits are filed each year by companies who have to defend their legal right.

Many people question the value of pursuing patent protection for small to mid-sized companies. They point to the expense of obtaining a patent and the even bigger expense of suing an infringer to defend your patent. Defending intellectual property is a nasty predicament for the entrepreneur with a small business. Patent litigation, in particular, is quite expensive, even in the realm of normally expensive lawsuits. Even small patent infringement cases, involving between $1 million and $10 million in damages, run about $748,000 to litigate, according to the median figure in a survey by the American Intellectual Property Law Association.

Trademark and copyright litigation costs less but still is expensive -- median costs were $249,000 and $180,000 respectively in the survey. Winners rarely hit the jackpot with big awards, and instead are often left with settlements that barely, if at all cover the cost of the fight.

Of course, major corporate executives don’t want to fork out this kind of money on legal battles any more than entrepreneurs do, but the big players are much more likely to find the funds needed to fight. For the small business, litigation drains cash resources where usually there is precious little to spare.

Yet going after a competitor who has infringed upon intellectual property, be it someone who has copied a copyrighted Web site or duplicated a patented product, is also necessary for many small businesses. Often, the question isn’t whether to defend intellectual property, but how to do it without stressing your business. Innovation is what makes us successful; protecting our intellectual property is what keeps us in business.

A typical small business is based on only a few unique products. Entrepreneurs who want to stay in business are often forced to fight to protect their livelihood. The decision to fight is one that can make or break a small business. So, in part, a major element in defending your intellectual property is attitude: the kind of confidence and risk-taking skills that are at the core of entrepreneurs.

Ownership of intellectual property rights brings with it both enormous benefits and great responsibility. It is your responsibility to defend your rights and to make sure others are aware of them. As an entrepreneur, don’t wait for someone to infringe on your intellectual property. Put a strategy in place to deal with infringement before it happens, as part of your overall protection and commercialization strategy.