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An IP Protection Primer for Entertainment Tech Startups

BY Dr. Dariush Adli
February 01, 2018

The tech-heavy entertainment industry is an active field for tech startup companies developing potential patents and trade secrets. But many cash conscious startups are forced to initially neglect protection planning for these intellectual property assets, instead allocating scarce resources to set up and initial operation costs. This article suggests some practical and economical steps for startups, especially those with tight finances, to protect what may become valuable patents and trade secrets.

Patents protect inventions that are new, useful and non-obvious. The three main categories of patents are utility patents, design patents, and business method/software patents. A utility product patent protects how a product is used, made, its function or structure. A utility process patent protects the inventive method of use or operation.

Patents are territorial, meaning a startup seeking international protection for its inventions needs to obtain protection in each country or jurisdiction. However, international treaties allow inventors to get the benefit of their priority filing date by filing a patent application in any member country. This allows startups to defer costs of protecting its inventions.

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