"Finders, keepers. Losers, weepers." The law of the
playground has suddenly taken on new meaning in the
business world, especially for small businesses and sole
proprietors when it comes to intellectual asset management.
The stuff of copyrights, trademarks and licensing
agreements, long the domain of the biggest corporations,
can prove just as profitable for small firms who learn how
to protect and promote "intellectual" assets that may be as
close at hand as your new way of compiling customer
profiles.
Intellectual asset (property) management is not just about
hot new products; it's about new ideas and innovations that
improve on existing goods and services. It's all a matter
of "finders, keepers," which can be just as easy for the
smallest firms to play as it is for the largest.
In the course of doing business, have you developed a
marketing process that works better than the traditional
way of marketing goods or services? Did your office
assistant come up with a new "Eureka!" about how to keep
tabs on customer (client) habits? Did you add two new steps
to a production process that created more cost-efficiencies?
Look deeper. Is the way your service or product brand worth
protecting? Can it become a profit generator by co-branding
with another company? Inc. magazine in its May editions
cited the case of Starbucks licensing its name to Jim Beam
for a new liqueur, and Harley-Davidson partnering with
Coca-Cola to reap millions of dollars in royalties from
products incorporating both names.
Is what you know innovative (different) and would it be
valuable to someone else? If your answer is yes, learn how
to protect and profit from these assets or risk joining the
ranks of "losers, weepers."
Four additional tips to keep in mind:
1. Industry reports cite the growing number of Intellectual
Property (IP) lawyers courting small firms instead of
traditional big business clients. Go to Google.com and type
in "IP lawyers" along with your state or city's name. Some
IP law firm Web sites carry free articles on IP trends.
2. If you're in the development stage of an innovative new
process, idea or product, and have employed outside help,
consider the use of a confidentially agreement, or
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), to protect your asset from
the start. One smart article on how NDAs work is at
About.com, a product of the New York Times Co., at
http://management.about.com/cs/ipandpatents/a/NDA062199.htm?
p=1.
3. Don't let your assets loose, even inadvertently, through
outgoing emails. Sandhills Publishing Company's
www.processing.com discusses ways to safeguard outgoing
email processes at www.processor.com/mirapoint-Inc.
4. Consider an outside sleuth to help you find your hidden
intellectual assets. Have you ever enlisted the help of a
friend to help you find a misplaced item? Invariably,
you'll hear, "Well, there it is, right in front of your
nose." Outside consultants with keen expertise and sharp
insights into how to spot potential intellectual assets can
prove exponentially more valuable to your bottom line than
that sharp-eyed friend.
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Always appreciate fresh new marketing and branding tips to
drive your business several steps forward? Tap Ruth Klein's
expertise at her upcoming Brand and Pitch Boot Camp.
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