Beverly Hills, California-based attorney Robert G. Klein specializes in intellectual property (IP) law. A principal at his law firm in California for more than 25 years, Robert G. Klein advises companies against making disastrous IP mistakes. Below are three IP mistakes often encountered by startups:1. Failing to include IP assignments in founding company agreements. When two or more friends start a company, they overlook IP assignments. Later on, when one founder leaves disgruntled, it creates issues concerning patents. Similarly, founders may overlook the importance of including IP protections in employee contracts. Protections like non-disclosure agreements on trade secrets are necessary.2. Waiting until after launching a product to file for patent protection. Many founders are in such a hurry to release their product and conquer the market, they bypass the patenting process. Given the United States’ first to file rule, companies that wait too long to file for a patent could give someone else an edge in acquiring the protection.3. Failing to investigate trademarks. It takes a lot of time and effort to build a brand. Founders who come up with a cool name for their product then market it aggressively without first checking to see if the trademark is available may later receive a cease and desist letter from a business that has registered and owns that trademark.IP is a complex area of law. Startup founders should engage competent IP attorneys from the start to navigate this area of law.
Robert G. Klein is a Beverly Hills, CA, attorney who focuses on business litigation and has taken numerous cases to trial in California state courts as well as at the federal level. With extensive knowledge of intellectual property law, Robert G. Klein offers client-driven strategies when it comes to trademarks and protecting one’s brand.One key reason why trademarks are of vital importance, beyond the actual products and services on offer, is that they influence consumers’ purchasing habits. They embody the reputation of the company, which can become diluted without a unified branding approach behind it. Trademarked names and logos also place the company front and center in terms of audience awareness and transcend language, helping reach global audiences and markets.A compelling reason to be proactive in establishing and protecting a trademark is that it can appreciate in value over time. At the beginning it may represent only a single core business or product, but as the company grows, the trademark often expands to encompass a host of integrated products and services.Never expiring as long as they are productively utilized, trademarks are relatively inexpensive to obtain and maintain through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. One critical aspect of the equation when launching a brand is to engage in due diligence and ensure that the trademark is available and does not infringe on another company’s rights.
