Step 9: infringement, protocols, litigation and costs

Infringement is a double-edged sword. You are creating value that someone else wants, or wishes they had created. On the other side, you must not infringe IP you do not own while you watch what others are doing.

Ask yourself: would you even know if you were infringing someone else’s IP? Would you know if someone were infringing yours? Do you know what harm is done when they do? There is a solution: a strict protocol of searching licenses and recently published applications.⁠^[3]⁠^[4] And if you want to pursue someone you believe has infringed your IP, you need to know what other IP is in the market, and what licensing has been done with those groups, because you may have the wrong target.⁠^[4]

Unfortunately, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Entrepreneurs and organizations need to allocate their finances wisely where infringement is concerned, because pursuing an infringement case can be costly, very costly.⁠^[3]

With protocols in place, you can set standards using an infringement subscription service that alerts you when you, or someone else, may be infringing a specific type of IP.⁠^[5] It helps make sure you are not infringing, and it creates a record of the processes you used to avoid infringing anyone else, which can reduce the cost of any litigation.

Properly drafted agreements help show that you had a code of behavior, and that, as an entrepreneur or organization, you put processes in place to keep the information behind your decisions current.

Without this kind of monitoring, and an understanding of infringement written into your agreements, a team member or employee could cause costs you never thought possible. Something you consider inconsequential could also give an attorney the grounds to start an action that costs more than any potential infringement.

We have all heard of videos deleted, or accounts blocked, on YouTube for infringement. What if that happened during a crowdfunding campaign, or another effort to raise capital for your organization or project? It could be a critical blow, and one you could avoid by reviewing simple best practices on IP infringement. Once bitten, twice shy.