Choosing The Perfect Counsel

Intellectual property, also known as IP, theft is considered a serious offense in the United States. This is because it costs billions of dollars to U.S. companies each year, which could have benefited the American economy. It's widely known that U.S. startups don't view IP protection as one of their top business priorities. This is precisely why they have become the preferred targets of both domestic and foreign fraudsters. This article explains what to do if someone has stolen your IP and ignores your infringement warnings.

Make sure your startup's IP is registered

There are two common ways of dealing with fraudsters: infringement warnings and lawsuits. The latter becomes inevitable when the thief is ignoring the infringement warnings sent out previously. But before engaging in any legal procedure, you first need to make sure that your company's IP is registered with the right type of defense, such as:

-       Copyrights

-       Patents

-       Trademarks

This is very important because unregistered work isn't recognized as IP by courts of law. One reason why you must register your IP in a timely manner is the fact that you won't be compensated for all the losses incurred when your IP wasn't registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

What can you expect from an IP theft-related lawsuit?

The settlement you'll receive for the damages caused to your company will depend on the court of law that rules on your infringement case. For example, you may decide to protect your trademark with a state registration. While this won't cost you much, you won't be protected if the fraudster that steals your concept resides in another state. National IP registrations are also recommended because federal courts of law are involved in the legal procedure, and settlement packages are significantly larger. The main elements of your settlement package include:

- Reimbursement of all business-related losses and legal fees

- Payment of part or all of the profits that your fraudster generated by stealing your idea

In addition to these two, the federal judge may also force the fraudster to pay additional fees to discourage them from stealing a business IP ever again.

IP infringement cases usually lead to financial compensation for the victims. But you'll only be able to bring legal sanctions upon your wrongdoer by registering your startup's IP. To do this, contact a patent attorney at a firm like Lingbeck Law Office. Also, IP protection is the only means you have to preserve the longevity of your small company. So make the right decision today.