The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines intellectual property (IP) as creations of the mind.
These include artistic/literary works, inventions, images, trade secrets, and names used in commerce.
Intellectual property is what identifies a business making it unique and able to stand out in the market. IPs give your business an edge over competitors.
Intellectual Property Anti-piracy Tips
Unfortunately, if you fail to adopt effective anti-piracy strategies, your business can suffer colossal losses in intellectual property theft.
Companies can protect their intellectual property by registering trademarks, patents, and copywriting creative works.
But how do you ensure that these approaches work to your benefit?
Don’t Go Public Before Filing Your Creative Works For IP Protection
If you have a viable idea or artistic work you wish to use in your business, avoid going public about it before filing for intellectual property protection.
Some startups make the mistake of participating in business exhibitions or pitching potential investors before patenting their inventions.
Artists and creative professionals may release their works before copywriting them.
In such instances, intellectual property thieves can rush and register the ideas as the original creators.
If you fall victim to such practices, it will be hard to prove you are the originator of the disputed works.
Unfortunately, these individuals often have enough resources to fund the stolen inventions and benefit immensely.
Consider Going Open Source
Technology innovators such as software developers can opt to go the open-source way. Here, one makes the original idea free and accessible to all.
You will not need to worry about taking anti-piracy measures. If your product solves a real problem in the market, you will attract a vibrant community in a short time.
You can then focus on developing solutions that add value to the open-source technology and solve specific customer needs at a fee.
Understand The Mind Of An Intellectual Property Thief
It has been said that it takes a thief to catch a thief. In the context of IP protection, you will need to think like an IP pirate to identify the loopholes they can use to steal your creative works.
Ask yourself what you would do if you were an outsider and wanted to steal your company’s intellectual property.
Devise anti-piracy strategies that address any vulnerabilities that both employees and outsiders can exploit and access your business secrets.
For instance, you may need to implement strict data protection policies and enforce consequence management in case of breaches.
Educate Your Workforce On IP Protection
As you revamp your IP anti-piracy strategies, do not forget to train your employees on data security and their role in keeping your company secrets secure.
Research shows that most data breaches in 2021 were associated with stolen login credentials.
Hackers can use stolen credentials to steal sensitive company data from compromised hardware. Limit access to sensitive information to the concerned persons only.
Consider Physical Separation Of Development Teams
Where possible, consider having multiple teams located in different places geographically.
Ensure these teams have separate systems, and none can develop your whole product.
It is hard for the teams to collaborate and steal product development secrets in such a setup.
Monitor Your IP Through Google Scraping
It’s crucial to adopt a proactive approach to intellectual property protection. One way to stay ahead of IP abuse is through Google scraping.
With search engine scraping, you can determine an attempt to steal your creative works promptly.
Secondly, Google scraping helps you gather the information required to provide evidence of IP infringement when suing the perpetrators.
Fortunately, monitoring your intellectual property is easy when you have a reliable Google Scraper API that can do comprehensive searches.
Learn more about anti-piracy measures and Google SERP scraping by visiting this website.
Use Legal Experts on IP Protection to Register Your IP and Draft NDAs that Favor You
Although individuals can register their IP, it is wise to consult seasoned experts.
Legal experts can help you search for your idea in the USPTO database and other publications before registration.
They also develop non-disclosure agreements(NDAs) and anti-piracy clauses that protect your interests.
Besides, legal experts come in handy when preparing for suits and countersuits on IP violations.
Constantly Improve On Your Product Designs
One way to stay ahead of IP pirates is to continuously improve your product designs. It is hard for IP thieves to keep abreast with constant improvements to a product.
They will need to steal your secrets repeatedly to keep up with your innovations.
Do not Co-Own IP With Third Parties
Co-owning IP has its challenges when one party’s interests change. Having divergent views when handling co-owned IPs can impact your company operations negatively and see your profits plumate.
It can also make it hard to enforce anti-piracy strategies. This leaves you vulnerable to intellectual property theft.
Secure Your IP Data
Know where your IP data is stored and have controlled access to these files. As stated above, stolen credentials account for most data breaches across the globe.
Therefore, keep any electronic storage media protected by adopting two-factor authentication and other safer data protection methods.
Final Thoughts
IP protection allows innovators and artists to benefit from their creative works.
Developing effective IP anti-piracy strategies requires a multifaceted approach.
Use the tips above to avoid common pitfalls that compromise your IP security.
