Bringing a proprietary product or service to market requires a coordinated and well-timed strategy. This strategy must address all pertinent legal and business considerations—including the critical importance of protecting the company’s intellectual property (IP) rights. Once a company develops a proprietary asset, that asset is the company’s to protect (or lose), and commercializing the asset requires a proactive approach to preserving its exclusivity.
Our attorneys help start-up and early stage companies leverage their intellectual property for commercial gain. Our clients include software companies and service companies, among others. In addition to helping our clients with trademark and copyright registration, we also help our clients protect and monetize their intangible assets in commercial transactions—whether those transactions involve licensing proprietary assets or providing proprietary services.
Helping Businesses Protect Their Proprietary Products and Service Offerings
For many businesses, one of their greatest threats is imitation. If a third party gains access to their proprietary code or business method, there is nothing to stop that third party from competing against the company using its own IP.
But, there are steps businesses can take to mitigate this risk—and these are steps that businesses should take in nearly all cases. After investing in months or years of research and development, it is well worth the additional (and relatively modest) investment of protecting what the business has developed.
From internal company documents to license agreements and master service agreements, our attorneys use a variety of different tools to help protect our clients’ intellectual property and preserve its commercial value. As with everything we do, we work closely with our clients’ founders, executives and key stakeholders to understand their specific goals, risks and needs, and then we provide practical, custom-tailored and executable solutions. With our efficient and lean approach, we do only what is necessary to help our clients protect their interests and achieve their business objectives.
Some examples of the types of businesses we have assisted with IP protection and commercialization include:
- Retail software companies
- Enterprise software companies
- Software as a service (SaaS) companies
- Open source software developers
- White-label software developers
- Professional service providers
- Businesses that rely on trade secrets or other proprietary information (i.e. algorithms or recipes)
- Businesses that rely on proprietary processes, databases, business methods
Regardless of the nature of your business’s intellectual property, regardless of its target market, and regardless of the commercial threats that presently exist, our attorneys can help ensure that its exclusive IP rights remain protected. We can help you develop and implement a strategy, and we can help you manage, enforce and refine this strategy as necessary on an ongoing basis.
Contact Osborn Maledon to Learn More
If you need to ensure that your business’s intellectual property rights are secure before taking its proprietary products or services to market, we encourage you to schedule an appointment with an IP attorney at Osborn Maledon. Call 602-640-9000 or get in touch online today.