When should a startup file for a trademark?

You should register your mark when your product already gives profit. So, when the expenses are lower than income, you should start protecting your name from the competitors.

Trademark Law Firm in Vietnam

While there exist a possibility that somebody would register the same mark for the same product, it is highly unlikely. Because:

The chances that some other person in the same country decides to register the same brand name, having no knowledge about your business, is close to 0;

If somebody else, knowing about your brand, registers it wishing to sell you the mark or illegally disrupt your business, you can sue them in court (on the grounds of bad faith).

I have seen cases, when people just at the beginning of their business invested high money in the intellectual property matters, but unfortunately, the business later failed. I believe, at the beginning there are always better fields to invest money.

You already have some-kind of protection:

While you must have knowledge about existing intellectual property rights (not to be sued yourself), protecting your own trademark can go to the second plan. Furthermore, even if trademarks are not protected without registration, there are still some legal grounds that protects you. For example:

A person who has used legally the mark before someone else registered it (legally, of cause), cannot be prevented to continue using the mark for the same scope (same goods and same territory);

If your trademark is not a generic term but an inventive word or a specific graphical image, it will be protected by the copyright law. And the copyright law does not need any registration, it is gained automatically once an original work is created. If you are a pharma company, do it, before you tell the name loud:

But, the need to register or not a trademark also depends a lot on the field where your business operates. For example, drugs industry is especially sensitive for all IP matters (patents, trademarks…). So, in this field I advice to register a mark as soon as possible. Because in the pharmaceuticals industry, the competition is really tough and it is better to have all IP protection you can.

Additional advices:

-Check for prior trademarks;

-Do not use any mark that is similar to the well-known brands (so NO “Aple”; “Cola-coca”, etc.);

-Better use a distinctive word, phrase, logo - you have stronger IP protection.

ANT Lawyers - A Law firm in Vietnam is supported by a team of experienced patent, trademark, design attorneys with qualification and skills handling full range of legal services relating to intellectual property rights in Vietnam.  We have specialized in the preparation and registration of patents, trademarks and designs for our clients.

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What are the critical steps to take, to protect your business’s intellectual property?

If you are a business owner, be sure your member agreement states that all intellectual property developed by members, shareholders, etc. belongs solely to the company and that members who develop  any intellectual property will execute any and all documents necessary to protect the company’s rights. This is particularly important in smaller businesses where the owners are the ones developing most or all of the creative ideas. Also, be sure that any employees and independent contractors who will work with trade secrets sign strong non-disclosure and non-competition agreements, because there is no registration for trade secrets (such as recipes and non-patentable formulas). Trade Secrets are protected only as long as they remain secret.

For example, our firm has done corporate, regulatory, and intellectual property work for almost 100 start-up breweries. We prepare these types of agreements all the time, to protect their beer recipes and formulas. We also register trademarks for their brewery names and beer brands whenever possible.

Also if possible, register it with the USPTO, U.S. Copyright Office, or in some cases, your state’s trademark registry or international registries. In some cases, a trademark is eligible for an early application before your business even opens, so take advantage of obtaining that earlier filing date. Just be aware there will be subsequent filing requirements after your business opens.

Register your copyrights on written works, including computer codes, screenplays, and artwork, and register them early. Statutory damages and attorney’s fees are usually not recoverable in an infringement action if the copyright was not registered before the infringement occurred or within 3 months of publication.

If you developed an innovative product, speak with a patent attorney about whether the product qualifies for patent protection (only attorneys who have passed a separate patent bar exam are qualified to work with patents). If the product does not qualify for patent protection, find other ways to make your product stand out, including through strong trademark branding and enforcement.

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What are the critical steps to take, to protect your business’s intellectual property?

If you are a business owner, be sure your member agreement states that all intellectual property developed by members, shareholders, etc. belongs solely to the company and that members who develop  any intellectual property will execute any and all documents necessary to protect the company’s rights. This is particularly important in smaller businesses where the owners are the ones developing most or all of the creative ideas. Also, be sure that any employees and independent contractors who will work with trade secrets sign strong non-disclosure and non-competition agreements, because there is no registration for trade secrets (such as recipes and non-patentable formulas). Trade Secrets are protected only as long as they remain secret.

For example, our firm has done corporate, regulatory, and intellectual property work for almost 100 start-up breweries. We prepare these types of agreements all the time, to protect their beer recipes and formulas. We also register trademarks for their brewery names and beer brands whenever possible.

Also if possible, register it with the USPTO, U.S. Copyright Office, or in some cases, your state’s trademark registry or international registries. In some cases, a trademark is eligible for an early application before your business even opens, so take advantage of obtaining that earlier filing date. Just be aware there will be subsequent filing requirements after your business opens.

Register your copyrights on written works, including computer codes, screenplays, and artwork, and register them early. Statutory damages and attorney’s fees are usually not recoverable in an infringement action if the copyright was not registered before the infringement occurred or within 3 months of publication.

If you developed an innovative product, speak with a patent attorney about whether the product qualifies for patent protection (only attorneys who have passed a separate patent bar exam are qualified to work with patents). If the product does not qualify for patent protection, find other ways to make your product stand out, including through strong trademark branding and enforcement.

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What are some of the common reasons why business owners don't move forward to protect their intellectual property?

If you've ever developed a new product or formulated a new business idea, you've most likely grappled with the question of whether you should to protect it legally in some way.  It can be a confusing issue, for sure, and many of the small business owners and entrepreneurs I meet don't seem to have a solid grasp of how, why and when to protect their products, or if it's even necessary.

There are a many reasons people hesitate to make intellectual property protection a priority when they are just starting a new business. They include:

1. It is another startup cost, one which is sometimes viewed as “non-essential,” simply because it is not legally required to operate the business.

2. They are unsure whether the business or product will “take off,” so they think they might not even need it.

3. They don’t anticipate anyone attempting to copy them.

4. They do not know what types of protections may be available for their products or brands.

5. They seek to keep costs down by utilizing free or inexpensive online resources.

Protecting intellectual property correctly is not simple, and many times the examining attorneys at the government agencies have questions or raise unexpected issues on the applications. That is why professional help is so important. It can be costly or limiting in the long run to skip these steps.

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What are the theories of intellectual property rights?

Intellectual property (IP) are the rights given to people for certain things they create. Here are some important features for each of these forms of IP, on the most basic level:

Patents protect processes and methods, which includes inventions, software, machines, manufactured items, compositions, and designs.

Protecting Intellectual Property Rights

Trademarks protect the identifying properties of something, whether that is the name, the website address, the logo, the slogan, or anything else of that nature.

Copyrights protect content. This can be content surrounding your products, articles, books, podcasts, songs, movies, guides, etc. If it takes even modest amounts of creativity to create, it’s likely covered by copyright law.

Trademarks and copyrights have “common law” rights which protect your creations to a certain degree. However, it is worth registering your IP with the Patent and Trademark Office  to get the most out of your IP. It will more greatly prevent others from ripping you off by providing a greater sense of notice to infringers. Also, you have to register your trademark and copyright in order to have standing to sue in federal court.

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What are the pros and cons of intellectual property?

Intellectual Property Rights Pros and Cons

Your company’s name, logo and even your products belong, well, to your company. In a perfect world, that’s how things would remain. These are all forms of intellectual property – you own the rights to that property (intellectual property rights). However, this is far from a perfect world. A quick look at the number of lawsuits revolving around IPR should highlight just how easily one company can infringe on another’s rights, even unintentionally. It also seems to make sense that if you have rights to intellectual property, you should fight for those rights. Is that always the case? Actually, there are quite a few pros and cons here.

Filing Lawsuit to protect intellectualproperty rights in Vietnam

Intellectual Property Rights Pros

There are quite a few pros to protecting your rights in terms of intellectual property. For instance, patents, trademarks and copyrights all give your business important advantages and incentives. Trademarks allow you to build your brand and create a stronger company. That applies to every other company out there, as well. Copyright ensures that a creator continues to own his or her artistic creation (books, artwork, graphic design work, etc.). Patents foster invention and innovation, as well as encouraging inventors to fully explain what’s being invented and how it works.

Intellectual Property Rights Cons

While there are plenty of pros in favor of protecting your rights, there are a few drawbacks here as well. For instance, copyright can be given to works that truly don’t deserve protection under the law, and patents can be given to frivolous things (Amazon’s patenting of “pictures on a white background” is a perfect example of patent frivolity). Other cons involve costs – protecting your rights can be very expensive. Intellectual property rights lawyers (IPR lawyers), court costs, settlement fees, filing fees and numerous other costs can mount very quickly, making protection of intellectual property rights expensive for even very large companies.

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How important is intellectual property protection for a startup?

If you could obtain a patent, that would be a great place to start and you should definitely pursue that. A patent would basically grant you a monopoly on the technology and let you exclude others from using it, or at least they would have to pay you for such use. But, assuming there is no patentable technology like you said, any other intellectual property right  (IP) may or may not be worth it. It really would depend on your business model and plan.

Trademark protection in Vietnam

A tradHow important is intellectual property protection for a startup?

If you could obtain a patent, that would be a great place to start and you should definitely pursue that. A patent would basically grant you a monopoly on the technology and let you exclude others from using it, or at least they would have to pay you for such use. But, assuming there is no patentable technology like you said, any other intellectual property right  (IP) may or may not be worth it. It really would depend on your business model and plan.

Trademark protection in Vietnam

A trademark on the name of your company is an example of an IP right that could be valuable in building your brand. The trademark would ensure that no one else could use your name and free ride off of any goodwill that you may have worked to build among consumers and customers in the marketplace. On the other hand, that may not be super important to you at the early stages of your startup and you may want to wait until later to get such protection.

IP rights definitely have value because they allow you to differentiate yourself from competitors. However, there will also be a cost of protection. You need to determine whether such value is worth the cost of protection. Sounds easy enough, but if you do decide to pursue IP rights, you should consult with an IP attorney who can help you through the process.

If you are looking for an IP attorney, but are concerned about the typical costs associated with the traditional legal search, you should visit ANTLawyers where we work to trim those costs. We will match you with an experienced IP attorney in Vietnam for a free, no obligation consultation. Hope this helps.

 emark on the name of your company is an example of an IP right that could be valuable in building your brand. The trademark would ensure that no one else could use your name and free ride off of any goodwill that you may have worked to build among consumers and customers in the marketplace. On the other hand, that may not be super important to you at the early stages of your startup and you may want to wait until later to get such protection.

IP rights definitely have value because they allow you to differentiate yourself from competitors. However, there will also be a cost of protection. You need to determine whether such value is worth the cost of protection. Sounds easy enough, but if you do decide to pursue IP rights, you should consult with an IP attorney who can help you through the process.

If you are looking for an IP attorney, but are concerned about the typical costs associated with the traditional legal search, you should visit ANTLawyers where we work to trim those costs. We will match you with an experienced IP attorney in Vietnam for a free, no obligation consultation. Hope this helps.

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How do I protect intellectual property for my software?

How do I protect intellectual property for my software?

To protect yourself you can apply for a software patent, but it’s an expensive, time-consuming process with no guarantee. The alternative is to find a work around, you could consider the following steps:

Protect Intellectual Properties Rights in Vietnam

1. Keep It Close

Be very careful about any outsourcing partner you work with, either domestically or overseas. Make sure they have adequate security in place to protect your IP when they work on it. As well, be careful how your IP is accessed by remote teams.

2. Cover Your Legal Bases And Encrypt Your IP

When you work with a developer (local or overseas) you should make sure you have strong legal agreements in place that are enforceable in the developer’s local court system as well. You should also employ strong encryption internally for sensitive IP, and make sure y okour partners employ the proper levels of encryption. It seems like a lot of overhead, but it is far cheaper than dealing with a breach of trust later.

3. Document Everything

Beside as patent, keeping a running log or journal of what has been done and when can help you defend your property if it is stolen. This journal should start with the inception of the idea, include every meeting you have, who was invited, and who attended. Using a product with a reliable date and time stamp and having a paper copy of the important moments helps prove ownership of your idea.

4. Talk To An Expert

There are numerous ways to protect your IP, such as patents, trademarks, design rights and trade secrets. It’s about accepting that you need expert guidance early and preparation. What do you need to protect and how? Where, when and what is the timeline for applying in different regions? What do you need to budget for? Talk to the experts so you can understand, prepare and budget.

5. Idea Plus Execution Plus Cash Equals Success

Great ideas are a dime a dozen – at least 10 people are working on your great idea right now! The winner will execute well, getting the idea to market fast along with the operating model needed to provide great customer service. And if you’ve ever tried to start a business, you know your time frame to profit is 3x your original plan. Cash is your life blood extending your timeline to success.

6. Offer The Best Experience In Order To Protect And Profit From Your IP

Besides applying for a patent, I am not sure there is any other good option. Reverse engineering is becoming commonplace, trade secrets are becoming more difficult to protect, and patent trolls are appearing everywhere. I think offering the best experience to your user with your technology is — or should be — the only way to properly profit from it.

7. Move Fast

Depending on your idea, IP protection might be a necessary evil. Necessary because it can provide some protection from others attempting to copy you. At the same time, IP tends to be limited in its application (protects your idea but not variants) and can be expensive to defend. Instead, I always advise that IP is less important than speed to commercialization. Move faster than the competition.

8. Be Fast And Agile

Organize your technology department to be flexible and agile — staying fast and creative will keep you innovating ahead of larger, slower competitors.

9. Use Good Security Measures

At a minimum, all source code should be clearly labeled with a confidentiality notice, warning that unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited and should be kept on secure systems within your facility. Only allow authorized personnel to access it. When software is deployed into the field, consider using third-party digital encryption solutions to wrap your software in a security envelope.

For further details, you should visit ANTLawyers – IP Services in Vietnam - Smart Platform for Legal, Accounting & Compliance services.

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