Do You Have an Idea, an Invention or a Technology? 10 Legal Mistakes That May Harm Your Rights
A good idea can become a product, a technology, a company or a significant asset. But on the way there, there are quite a few legal risks that people tend to discover only after the problem has already arisen.
The common mistake is to think that legal protection begins when a lawsuit is filed or when a dispute arises.
In practice, in many cases protection begins much earlier.
“I don’t look only at the right or at the business, I also look at the person behind them.”
- Disclosing the invention too early
When it comes to an invention that may be eligible for patent protection, disclosing information before receiving appropriate advice may be significant.
Therefore, before presenting an invention to an external party, an investor, a manufacturer, a business partner or a commercial entity, it is important to examine what can be disclosed, how to disclose it and under what conditions.
- There is no clear arrangement of ownership
One of the most important questions is seemingly simple:
Who owns the right?
When several people, a company, inventors, employees or partners are involved in the development, it is important to regulate ownership and rights clearly.
The absence of an arrangement in advance may later turn into a significant dispute.
- Assuming that the company automatically owns all the rights
The mere fact that the development was carried out within a business framework is not necessarily enough to resolve all ownership questions.
The relationship between the inventors, the employees, the contractors, the partners and the company, and the agreements signed between them, must be examined.
- Working with a partner without an appropriate agreement
A partnership can begin with great enthusiasm.
The problem is sometimes revealed precisely when the business succeeds.
Who owns the intellectual property? Who may make decisions? What happens when one of the partners leaves? Can the rights be sold? Who may use the technology?
It is worth answering these questions before they turn into a dispute.
- Signing an agreement without understanding its business meaning
A good agreement is not just a legal document.
It must fit the business relationship between the parties.
An agreement with a supplier, customer, partner, investor, manufacturer or distributor must reflect the risks, the liability, the consideration, the rights and the future options of the business.
- Treating intellectual property only as a “registration”
A patent, a trademark or a design are not just legal rights.
They can be business assets.
It is therefore important to also think about the future use of the right: licensing, sale, collaboration, investment, commercialization, or use as part of a product or business activity.
- Not examining the broader picture
Sometimes a person only checks whether his invention can be registered.
But the broader business question may be:
Are there rights of others that may affect the activity?
Is the legal structure suitable?
Is the ownership clear?
Do the agreements protect the business?
Will it be possible to commercialize the asset in the future?
- Waiting for a dispute
When a warning letter arrives, or when use of the right is discovered, the options sometimes narrow.
Early planning allows more control.
It is therefore worth examining the rights, the agreements and the risks in advance, and not only when a dispute already exists.
- Not mapping the assets and rights
A business may hold much more intellectual property than its owners think.
Patents, patent applications, trademarks, designs, software, documents, know how, trade secrets, agreements and contractual rights can be a significant part of the business value.
Orderly mapping makes it possible to understand what exists, to whom it belongs, how it is protected and what else can be done to preserve it.
- Not building a legal strategy that suits the business
Not every business needs the same level of protection, and not every asset requires the same strategy.
Legal decisions should fit the business goals, the stage the venture is at, the market it targets, the ownership structure and the potential value of the asset.
So what should you do?
Before moving forward with an invention, a product, a technology, a new company or a significant collaboration, it is worth stopping and examining the legal picture.
What do you own?
What is not yet protected?
Who may use the rights?
Are the agreements suitable?
What risks exist?
And what can be done now to prevent a problem in the future?
Good legal protection does not begin when the problem arises.
It begins with the decisions made before it.
Asaf Gitelis, Attorney, supports inventors, entrepreneurs, companies and businesses in the fields of patents and intellectual property, alongside commercial law, contracts, agreements, commercialization of innovation and legal risk management.
Don’t wait for the moment when you say “too bad I didn’t take care of this earlier”.