What intellectual property should Elsie’s protect? Discuss all of the IP topics that we have reviewed.
The intellectual property protection wraps a lot of things from the manufacturing of goods, the creation of recipes to the branding of the final product (Bently & Sherman, 2014). The IP protection that Elsie’s should consider includes trademarks, patent rights, design protection as well as trade secrets.
Trademark is a very critical asset because it permits a customer to choose the food they need. Trademarks make consumers make choices easier. The clients don’t have to read the ingredient every time to make a decision Bently & Sherman, 2014). When a trademark is well known, a business prevents others from using it. Patenting food products helps a lot because it makes it complex to imitate the process of production and the owner of the original ides can sue the imitator through patent law (Bouchoux, 2012).
The design of a product can be duplicated with a lot of ease. Therefore copyrighting the design is an excellent method to protect the product. This can be done through the use of a distinct concept of packaging. Finally, trade secrets are used to protect the recipes of a product. This is the company’s confidential information. When a business keeps the trade secret with non-disclosure agreements, then if a person steals it, the court can protect it as a secret (Bouchoux, 2012).
What steps would Elsie’s have to take to protect their IP?
Elsie’s can protect their IP through some essential steps to lower their chances of dealing with IP theft by a variety of federal laws. These steps include keeping their business ideas a secret, detailing their ideas and original content in a manuscript, applying for their trademark and registering all the IP assets.
What steps would Elsie’s have to take if there was an infringement on their IP?
If Elsie’s noticed an infringement on their IP the first step is to comprehend the extent of their rights and determine if they have legal defenses that can make the infringer’s use allowable. Later Elsie’s can decide on what to do and if they want the infringement to stop, they can consider notifying the infringer of their rights and ask them to stop through a desist letter. If the infringer ignores the letter, Elsie’s can proceed to litigation to look for a sanction. Elsie’s can decide to be compensated through monetary means whereby they can ask for license charges or settlement fee. If their request is ignored, then they can go to the court to acquire compensation.