Use of Contracts to Protect Your Intellectual Property

Intellectual property is generally a tool used by businesses to increase revenue, to create projects and to connect with clients in launching joint ventures or to sell to the public. It is through the contractual obligations that a business is most often able to keep the IP secret and the details confidential between employees and third-party vendors.

Many companies make use of contracts to ensure that IP has certain safeguards in place with employees and clients that may need access to the intellectual property. Some of these situations involve proprietary software that the business needs to keep ownership of and retain various rights with when working on projects or selling to consumers. The contract itself may provide the restrictions that keep employees from disclosing details, from pilfering clients away from the company or engaging in competitive business with similar IP. However, the company must ensure that the contract is enforceable in a court of law.

What Intellectual Property Comprises

Most intellectual property contains certain aspects such as ideas or concepts brought to life by the company or developer. These may include inventions that require patents, artistic expression in some form of work such as a book, symbols, names, images or phrases and other conceptual designs of the mind. When a person creates such property, he or she may need to pursue a patent, trademark, trade secret or copyright process. Each only works with certain IP and the individual should only acquire the correct form or risk losing any protection the laws may have over the IP.

Contractual Protections for the IP of a Business

Many are able to register intellectual property and create contracts surrounding the registration. This is generally possible in the patent and trademark processes. A patent seals the invention in a time frame of restrictions with others’ use of the product. This leads to the owner possessing the exclusive rights to sell and license the item through business use. He or she may remain the only person to sell the patented invention until the time runs out. This creates a bound contract for each person that buys the item, and it prevents him or her from reproducing or selling the invention even if he or she does recreate it. 

Another type of contractual obligation on companies and individuals is the trademark. Once the word, phrase, symbol or logo become a brand for company use, no one else is able to use the same or similar trademarks without incurring violations. The mark requires a distinctive image or word that separates it from others, and the owner has the option to register at a state level or nationally. This binds anyone else through contractual rules to refrain from using the trademark in business, with products or attaching similar or the same brand to services. Lawyers are generally on standby for infringement situations.

Important Contracts

There are two important contracts that an owner of intellectual property may make use of with employees or those that require information to perform job tasks. These are the nondisclosure agreement and the non-compete contract. The nondisclosure agreement will generally stop employees and colleagues from disclosing detail and info about the IP to others. The stipulations protect the owner and ensure that confidential data remains inside the company or with the owner and anyone he or she included in the process. The IP may stay within the business or develop through business interactions. Some are software and contain proprietary processes and information. 

The non-compete contract prevents employees from using the same intellectual property or similar items and working against the company either at the current time or in the future for so many months or years based on the stipulations of the contract. Provided the action does not violate any unfair business practices, the company may prevent certain competitive market activity with the IP for a time. By using the contract, the owner may keep clients and customers coming back to his or her products or services and prevent a cut in revenue from competitors. If the IP only exists within the company, a non-compete contract may stop the pilfering of clients and customers for a complimentary or competitive product or service.

Legal Help with Contracts for IP

The owner of IP will usually need a lawyer to register, create contracts and protect the person or company from possible complications. Through legal services, the owner may avoid lawsuits or engage in negotiations for timely resolutions to IP matters.