You’re pretty smart; so is everyone else who has helped make your company a success. That competitive advantage, that know-how and knowledge, is what we call intellectual property—and there are people out there who want to steal it.
While it’s likely your business needs some type of intellectual property (IP) coverage—most companies do—the first step is to identify the amount of exposure you actually have. While your advisor should review a comprehensive checklist with you before designing a tailored program, consider these potential IP concerns:
- Does your company have any existing or pending patents, trademarks, trade secrets or copyrights?
- Do employees handle and hold responsibility for safeguarding any third-party confidential information?
- Does your business provide technology products or processes?
- Do you offer proprietary business methods or programs?
- How high is your employee turnover; how often do they move between competitors?
- Is your brand one of the market leaders?
- Is your industry competitive?
- Has your company ever been involved in or threatened with an IP infringement lawsuit as either a plaintiff or defendant?
- Can your business afford to self-insure an IP lawsuit?
- Does your company have, or is it considering, licensing any of its products, processes or intellectual property?
Of course, this checklist doesn’t uncover every risk you might face, which is why MJ is ready to help you review not only your exposures, but also the protection levels you may believe are already in place with your existing general liability (or business owner’s) policy. We can also discuss risk management strategies to reduce the likelihood of an incident in the first place, as well as a recovery plan should an IP lawsuit occur. Just follow up to get started!
