Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul
Speaker 1: fella Aledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to this seven minute leadership podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode five thirty seven. Today's episode is for the creators,
Speaker 2: the dreamers, the innovators, the people sitting on a great
Speaker 2: idea and wondering how to protect it before the world
Speaker 2: sees it. Maybe you've got the next big tech product.
Speaker 2: Maybe it's a brand name, a course, a podcast, a book,
Speaker 2: or even just a phrase you want to build a
Speaker 2: movement around. The idea is yours, and before you shout
Speaker 2: it from the rooftops, you need to protect it like
Speaker 2: a't your identity, because in many ways it is. So
Speaker 2: let's talk about intellectual property more importantly, how to guard
Speaker 2: your idea before it becomes someone else's success story. Step one,
Speaker 2: Know what you've got. The first thing to do is
Speaker 2: figure out what kind of intellectual property your idea falls under.
Speaker 2: If it's a brand name, logo, slogan, or product name,
Speaker 2: you're in trademark territory. If it's original written content, artwork, music,
Speaker 2: or videos, that's copyright. If it's an invention, you're looking
Speaker 2: at a patent. If it's a method, process or formula
Speaker 2: and you want to keep it a secret, think trade secret.
Speaker 2: Let's say you've come up with a brand name that
Speaker 2: you know is gold. It's catchy, it's memorable, it's the
Speaker 2: kind of thing you can see on hats, water bottles, websites.
Speaker 2: You name it. That's when it's time to talk trademarks.
Speaker 2: Step two. Start with a search before you spend money
Speaker 2: or build a brand around it. Do a simple search.
Speaker 2: Head to the United States Patent and Trademark Office USPTO
Speaker 2: dot gov and use the tests search tool. See if
Speaker 2: your name or something very similar is already registered. If
Speaker 2: it is, you may need to tweak your idea. If
Speaker 2: it's not good news, you might be the first to
Speaker 2: the finish line. And also check domain availability, social media handles,
Speaker 2: common usage via a Google search, and if all that
Speaker 2: checks out, it's time to lock it. In. Step three,
Speaker 2: file the trademark. You can file a trademark on your
Speaker 2: own for around two hundred and fifty to three hundred
Speaker 2: and fifty dollars per class. It's not complicated, but it's
Speaker 2: not casual either, you're going to need to choose your mark,
Speaker 2: which is your word, logo, or phrase, Identify the class
Speaker 2: of goods or services you're protecting, and show that you've
Speaker 2: already been using the name in commerce or plan to.
Speaker 2: And yes, you can file a intent to use trademark
Speaker 2: if you're not quite live yet but planned to be soon.
Speaker 2: That gives you time to finish development while holding your
Speaker 2: place in line. If you're not comfortable doing this alone,
Speaker 2: hire a trademark attorney or use a service like legal
Speaker 2: Zoom or a trademark engine. You don't need to break
Speaker 2: the bank to protect your idea. Let's talk copyrights. Copyrights
Speaker 2: made easy. Let's say your big idea is a piece
Speaker 2: of content, a book, a course, a blog series, a
Speaker 2: podcast episode, or a graphic design. Here's the good news.
Speaker 2: The moment you create it, it's automatically protected under copyright law.
Speaker 2: But if you want to officially register the copyright, which
Speaker 2: gives you legal proof and protection, head over to copyright
Speaker 2: dot gov. Filing costs about forty five to sixty five
Speaker 2: dollars and can protect you in court if someone tries
Speaker 2: to rip off your work. Step five, don't overshare too early.
Speaker 2: This is one of the most common mistakes I see
Speaker 2: leaders oversharing their big idea in meetings, online, or even
Speaker 2: in casual conversation until you filed, protected, and prepared. Keep
Speaker 2: it in the vault. If you have to share with
Speaker 2: someone like a developer, designer, or partner, use a non
Speaker 2: disclosure agreement in NDA. It doesn't have to be fancy.
Speaker 2: There are free templates online and it's better than nothing.
Speaker 2: In step six, treat your idea like it's already worth
Speaker 2: millions because it could be. One of the greatest leadership
Speaker 2: moves you can make is protecting the future version of
Speaker 2: your business before anyone else sees it. You don't need
Speaker 2: a million followers to have a brand worth protecting. All
Speaker 2: you need is belief in what you've created in a
Speaker 2: plan to keep it yours. So here's your leadership homework
Speaker 2: for today. Number one, do the search. Number two, file
Speaker 2: the protection, number three, keep your idea close until it's
Speaker 2: legally locked in. And number four, when in doubt, just
Speaker 2: make sure you talk to an expert because nothing hurts
Speaker 2: more than watching someone else win with your idea. This
Speaker 2: has been the seven minute Leadership podcast, and I thank
Speaker 2: you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more. Paul Fellovlito Podcast. Visit Paul fellowalito dot com.