Week Two: Beyond Patents

Patents are not the only form of intellectual property available to entrepreneurs.

Copyright protects the source code behind a software-implemented invention, companies like Apple are increasingly using design patents, and trademark law offers some initial protection for the brand recognition that comes from the “first mover advantage.”

In this week’s course, we’ll cover the other forms of intellectual property that can supplement patent protection in rounding out a startup’s intellectual property strategy and providing a competitive advantage in the absence of patents.

Watch the Live Q&A

Tune in July 24 at 1-2 P.M. EST to get your questions answered and to ask more:

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Videos to watch this week

The Experts

Marcus Sprow from Foley Lardner

Things to consider

Have questions? Ask them! We’ll cover questions posted here in our live chat. Some specifics to think about might be:

• Is there anyway to protect my user interface?
• What type of protection is best for software?
• What types of information constitutes a trade secret and how does a startup obtain trade secret protection?
• If an idea is not patentable, can it still be the basis of a successful company?