None of today’s tech advancements and creature comforts in life would be possible without the protection of intellectual property (IP). Far beyond IP just being that spark that acts as an ignition source for the fire of innovation; it goes well beyond that via the laws associated with private ownership over one’s IP. This means that the system is set up to benefit people for their IP, which leads to marketable ideas and products, and this leads to life-changing innovations for the entire population. If you’re not protecting that IP, then it’s very likely you’re not going to innovate. Here are some examples to explain why investigations into your IP are important.
Understand If There’s a Market or Not
The first reason that IP investigations are so important is that you can initially gauge the market to see if your idea is even marketable. While you might not read about these sorts of stories, because there’s nothing sensational about them, the fact is that many different ideas for products and other innovations are shelved entirely because the party with a supposedly original IP finds out that the market already has an existing IP that’s too similar. So they run into the issue of either risking being sued for infringement, or the market’s just too saturated already. With an IP investigation, you can find out if your idea is truly original and therefore if it’s marketable. This is the incentive people need to push forward with their ideas.
Checking to See If Your IP is Safe
Investigations into your IP are also going to be the only way to tell if someone else is using your IP before it’s too late. There are a lot of different stories out there about people allegedly stealing IP, then creating and pushing the product themselves. By the time the thieves are already established in the market, it’s much harder to take legal action to get your IP back. In fact, in most instances, you simply lose out and, at best, become a competitor for your idea. With an investigation, however, you can tell if there is anyone out there counterfeiting or stealing your ideas.
A Good Way to Consult for the Future
Even if you’re not using the investigative service for an actual investigation, you can still consult with a good company and find out a lot of different things you need to know. For instance, you can learn how to go through the process of getting a patent on your idea, or how to trademark something original that you came up with. It’s in the service’s best interests for you to protect your ideas. This way, if ever you hire them for an investigation, they’re going to have a lot of resources available to help them track down your IP, and then you’re going to have actual legal options to step in and stop it. If your idea isn’t protected, you will likely not be able to convince the courts that it belonged to you. Possession being nine-tenths of the law isn’t just some colloquialism that people say.
Find Out About Potential Leaks
People don’t just steal your IP out of the blue; there’s a process that goes along with it. They hear about an idea from somewhere, and then they start to learn more information. This information isn’t necessarily about what you are doing, but rather about what you’re not doing. If you’re not ready to take your IP to market, for instance, they might hear this and decide to fast-track the idea on their end, beating you to the punch. This happens a lot because there’s someone close to you or your business that’s leaking information. How do you know if you leak before it’s too late? A good investigation into your IP can catch the leak before it’s too late and thus save your IP.
In Conclusion
The simple fact of the matter is that you are likely going to need to hire a service to perform an investigation into your intellectual property. If you’re planning on taking your idea to market, it’s a prerequisite for success.
