IP Strategy for Startups and Small Business

Startups live or die on their ideas, yet most put off IP protection until it is too late because it feels like a luxury they cannot afford.

The truth is the opposite: early, focused IP protection is often what makes a startup investable and hard to copy, and it does not have to break the bank.

What to protect first

• Your core product or technology with a patent
• Your brand name with a trademark
• Your code and content with copyright
• Your know-how with strong contracts

Budget-smart moves

• File provisional patents to lock dates cheaply
• Register the trademark early, before launch
• Use contracts to secure contractor IP
• Reassess as revenue proves the market

Protect the one thing that makes you different before you pitch it, and investors will see a defensible business instead of an exposed idea.

Staying within budget

Focus IP spend on the one thing that makes you different, and let the rest wait until revenue justifies more.

• Protect the core first
• Use provisional filings
• Reassess after traction

Protect the one thing that makes you different first, and every IP dollar after that builds on a defensible core.