A war of weiners. How to protect your intellectual property.

By Maryann Lawrence, Startup Rep, Direct Incorporation

This month, Vienna Beef brought a lawsuit against its founder’s grandson for trademark infringement of its ‘Chicago-style hotdogs.’ The grandson, who is no longer affiliated with Vienna Beef, is accused of claiming that his hotdog company, Red Hot Chicago, makes its hotdogs with a century old Vienna Beef recipe.

Red Hot Chicago’s tagline? “A family tradition since 1893.” Strange, since Red Hot Chicago has only been around for a quarter of a century.

So, who will win this hot dog debate? Only time will tell. But it brings up a point I want to make, which is that you must be proactive in protecting your company’s intellectual property. Intellectual property protection is important because without it you would not reap the full rewards of your inventions, creativity, ideas and hard work.

What is considered intellectual property?

Intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs, are all considered intellectual property. They come in the form of trademarks, copyrights and patents.

How can I protect my business from intellectual property theft?

The U.S Department of Commerce predicts that US companies lose 250 billion dollars a year due to intellectual property theft! But there are things you can do to protect yourself.

According to Inc.com’s article, How to Protect Your Trademark From Infringement:

• You must first choose a trademark that you will be able to protect.
• Secondly, you will need to use your mark correctly.
• Third, you’ll want to monitor your mark for potential infringements.
• Last, crack down on trademark thieves.

For more information on intellectual property protection, read Inc.com’s article, and then visit stopfakes.gov.

Do you have questions about intellectual property rights? Please leave a comment below and I will try to answer them. Thanks!  – Maryann