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How To Protect Your Brand And Assets

StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Protect your brand|How To Protect Your Brand And AssetsCompanies face a variety of risks: legal, financial, intellectual and asset-related. When these risks combine, they can put brands in jeopardy.

Fortunately, there are numerous ways to manage risks and secure your business for the long term. Here’s what you need to do.

Create Agreements With Employees

Writing employee agreements is essential for preventing damage to your business from the inside. Staff who must abide by contracts are far less likely to harm your enterprise.

There are several reasons for this. First, contractual agreements prevent employees from using your firm’s private records for their own gain. Either, they cannot access your files, or they cannot use them for personal benefit without facing legal consequences.

Second, contractual agreements prevent staff from sharing secret formulas or recipes or using them themselves.

And, lastly, and perhaps most importantly, agreements stop staff from stealing your intellectual property. They can’t, for instance, take your ideas and then set up their own business doing the same thing, stealing customers from you in the process.

Build Relationships With Facilities Security Partners

Brands also need to consider physical premises security. In today’s environment, it is essential for every firm to consider its security arrangements on its premises, including companies that don’t hold stock on-site.

Facilities security partners can provide a suite of services to protect your property and keep it safe. These include CCTV monitoring, RFID sensor installation, and perimeter fencing. You may also want to work with a graffiti removal company if you operate in an area prone to vandalism. Partners can ensure that your property remains attractive at all times while deterring criminals from causing damage.


Incorporate

Incorporating your business is another great way to protect your personal assets. You don’t want to put your car, home or savings on the line when you start a business. Forming an LLC or similar provides you with tremendous protection and lets you keep your business separate.

Secure Your Data

Firms that fail to secure their data are asking for trouble. Today, hackers perform millions of hacking attempts every hour against businesses, looking for weaknesses in their defences. If there are any issues with your IT security, they will find it and take advantage of it.

There are several things you need to do to secure your data and network. These include:

  • Backing up all your raw data and files at a third-party location
  • Hiring managed IT services to take care of your security requirements, including updates and monitoring
  • Training your employees on how to spot the signs of phishing and other attempts to steal your private data

Apply For Trademarks And Patents

Lastly, applying for trademarks and patents is one of the best ways to protect your business and secure it for the long term.

But what does that mean, precisely? Essentially, it means working with various government departments to protect both your name and idea. Trademarks, for instance, mean that nobody else can use your name. Patents, on the other hand, mean that people can’t steal your ideas and then pass them off as their own products.

Legal Tips for Small Business Owners

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Small Business Owners|Legal Tips for Small Business OwnersAs the owner of a small business, it is essential that you consider the law in running your business as you will obviously want to make sure that you are operating above board and know how to protect your small business. A small business can struggle if they encounter any kind of legal issue, which is why it is so important to be aware of a few tips which could come in useful when it comes to abiding by the law and protecting your business. Read on to find out the best legal tips for small businesses and how they could help.

Choose the Right Business Structure

First, you need to make sure that you choose the right business structure and one which will protect your personal assets at risk if you encounter a legal issue. You will be able to protect your personal assets by forming a limited liability partnership or limited company, so it is important to spend some time researching what would be best for you.

Create Contracts for All Agreements

Many business owners make the mistake of not creating contracts for agreements, but this could prove to be costly down the line. This is why contracts need to be drawn up for every single agreement, which also helps to clarify what is expected and should stop any misunderstandings from occurring.

Create Terms and Conditions

Similarly, you need to create Ts&Cs in order to protect the business and to outline what is expected when a consumer enters an agreement with your business. Without this, you are putting yourself at risk of uncertainty and misunderstandings, so you need to establish the rules in order to protect yourself.

Protect Your Intellectual Property

You do not want other companies benefiting from your intelligence and creativity, which is why you need to use trademarks, patents, and copyrights to protect your intellectual property. Additionally, when you create a new idea, product, service, or anything else, then you should always do a patent and trademark search to avoid stealing intellectual property.

Find Reliable Lawyers

It is also important to do your research, find the best corporate lawyers in your area, and consider different potential issues. As an example, you will want to find an expert eminent domain attorney in the event of authorized companies trying to take your private property for public use, and they will be able to fight on your behalf to stop this from happening or secure the best possible amount.

Stay Current With Changing Laws and Regulations

Finally, you need to make sure that you keep up to date with changing laws and regulations as these can change and often. HR will help a business stay compliant and make necessary changes relating to employment law, which will stop you from encountering any issues.

Hopefully, these legal tips will be of use and help you to protect your business. In particular, small businesses need to be wary of the legal issues that can arise from running a business and make sure that they have the best protection in place.

When Professionals Run Into Problems With Buying IP Addresses In Business, This Is What They Do

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |IP Address|When Professionals Run Into Problems With Buying IP Addresses In Business, This Is What They DoIn business, reaching new solutions are crucial to saving time and money.

So, taking the lid off IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, may also confuse people with regard to IP (Intellectual property), but both are different and yet, play a strategic part in expanding your business’s trajectory in an upward direction.

But, how can you move forward with this in the current economic climate?

To learn more about how to Buy IP address, click the link.

An IP address stands for ‘Internet Protocol’.

What does this mean?

It refers to the unique number connected with the IP address that links to all of your business’s activities, similar to that of a parcel’s return label.

You cannot take your IP address with you when you move from place to place or venture to another country as it is all part of the ‘Internet Protocols’

Economics of Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property (IP) is a critical component governing a high percentage of economic policies. Many Government bodies face headaches, when deciding the design and structure of IP to serve specified objectives that fit new technologies, and the current changing business models.

Strategic Intellectual Property Management

The scope of business plans is not reliant on its commercial aspects, and incorporates all of its assets and resources to make the business viable.

A strong IP protection and management policy will ensure that business planning and IP are strongly connected.

An IP policy for your business is an essential element in your business plan, adding value to your venture, especially if your description within your plan capture this information. However, it may also deflect any interest from potential stakeholders.

Therefore, any IP information must be included in your business plans as clearly as possible.

IP ownership and protection policies inside your business need to be completely durable. There should be no doubt about the products or services either co-owned or owned by the company, in particular any assets that are under license with third parties.

You should also make revisions if this is not the case, as investors heavily focus on IP when considering business investments.

Business Strategies Post Brexit

Many businesses are now frantically wondering what will happen to their companies post-Brexit. The ongoing damaging effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic are a cause for concern, leaving many companies at breaking point.

Here are a few steps to a post-Brexit strategy to keep your businesses buoyant and moving forward:

  1. Develop a course of actions that can float and are unsinkable.
  2. Rethink your global footprint.
  3. Embrace diversity and different perspectives within your company.
  4. Choose your words wisely and lead at a level of transparency so that nothing is missed.
  5. Develop a foreign company policy.
  6. Turn any signs of antipathy in your business into a source of building forward momentum to propel your business forward.

Business strategies need to progress in line with new technologies, and the current constraints of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Essentially leading to businesses rebuilding and recovering from any losses.

The Process Required For Trademark Renewals

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article | TrademarkA trademark is used to establish ownership of the products you sell and distinguish it from the goods of other manufacturers. It can be a word, name, logo, or any device. While marks that pertain to a service is called a service mark, the term trademark has generally been used for both products and services.

You gain exclusive right to use the mark for any purpose relevant to your business such as on promotional materials. Another significant advantage of a trademark is to prevent others from using the same name or logo since this can confuse your customers and, if it is misused, destroy the reputation of your brand.

Forms for Trademark Renewal

The process does not end with registering your business’ trademark. To allow continuous use of trademark, you need to process a renewal so that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) won’t cancel your registration after a certain period of time. This guide found online can help you know more about the renewal process.

To protect your brand and uphold your trademark registration, there are two forms that you have to be familiar with:

  • Declaration of Use – This section 8 document requires you to present proof to the Trademark Office that your trademark is still being used for your business. The process enables the office to filter out unused or abandoned marks. To file for this form, you should submit evidence of use such as product labels or packaging materials that feature the trademark.
  • Application for Renewal – This section 9 form is a formal, written request to the USPTO to renew your registration for your products and services. The Declaration of Use accompanies this form during filing. The renewal is good for ten years.

Fees for Trademark Renewal

The USPTO has posted trademark fees on its official website. It includes the cost of filing an application, requests for dividing an application, and other miscellaneous expenses.

For renewal, here are the costs that you need to be aware of:

  • Filing of the Application for Renewal of a Registration – $500
  • Grace Period Additional Fee for Filing a Renewal Application – $200
  • Correct a Deficiency in a Renewal Application – $200
  • Filing for an Affidavit (Section 8) – $225
  • Additional Fee for Filing for an Affidavit (Section 8) – $200
  • Correcting a Deficiency in an Affidavit (Section 8) – $200

Timeline for Trademark Renewal

It is imperative that you know when your trademark registration expires so that you can file for renewal before it happens. Failure to do so can invalidate your listing and will allow others to misuse your brand name or logo.

  • Deadline for First Filing – Submit the Declaration of Use to the USPTO between the fifth and sixth years after you initially registered your trademark. The government allows for a six-month grace period in case you miss the deadline with a penalty fee of $100 per class.
  • Deadline for Second Filing – Use the forms for Declaration of Use and Application for Renewal before the tenth year after the registration date. There’s still a six-month grace period for business owners who miss the second filing of their trademarks with additional fees.
  • Deadline for Third and Successive Filing – After the second filing, you have ten years until you need to renew your trademark. You still use the Declaration of Use and Application for Renewal documents.

For example, you registered your trademark on August 1, 2016, you can file for renewal as early as August 1, 2021 or as late as August 1, 2022, since the former is the start of the fifth year after the registration date and the latter is the beginning of the sixth year since registration. The second renewal should be before August 1, 2026, while the next filing should be before August 1, 2036.

Excusable Non-Use

The USPTO provides an exemption for the non-use of the trademark under special circumstances. This can happen when the business is sold to another party thus the mark is temporarily unused. Issues in manufacturing and emergencies like illnesses or natural calamities are also subject for consideration by the Trademark Office.

Filing for excusable non-use must include the trademark registration number, the current owner’s name and address, declaration filing fee, and a list of the products or services associated to the mark that is unused as well as the reason for non-use. Moreover, the document must include the estimated date when commerce will resume and the specific actions taken to continue using the mark.

Conclusion

Registering your trademark adds more value to your brand as well as your products and services. Going through the process increases your credibility since you went through the lengths of legitimizing your business. This demonstrates to your customers that they can trust you and that you carry out ethical business practices.