Secrets to Success Deborah Cole Micek and John-Paul Micek

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Protecting intellectual property

I RECENTLY attended a teleconference where my jaw dropped practically the entire time - and not because the content was fabulous. I was in shock because it was my content that the leader was sharing -- without giving any credit to where or from whom she had obtained the information.

In an age where information is a commodity, many business owners haven't educated themselves on what they can and cannot use themselves to re-sell for their own profit.

This topic came up again when I was talking to a business owner who was putting together a unique presentation. We were discussing ways for her to protect her information from being re-used, or distributed without her company name or author's tag on it.

I gave her several tips on what she could do immediately to begin protecting her work, and then I encouraged her, as I would any business owner: Learn everything you can about protecting your intellectual property.

That's because once you do all the research and put in all the time, money and energy into innovating something that you put together and sell, you'll most certainly want it protected from others who would simply copy it.

And, do it soon.

Let me share one secret that can help you in a court of law, if you ever needed several ways to prove that you developed and used the information first.

Mail yourself a printed copy of the workshop handouts, book, or printed Web pages that you have on content that you create. I would also include your handwritten notes, mind-maps, or anything else you used to develop your innovative idea or material. Whether it's a Web site, company name, unique strategy, or design, mail it to yourself before you let the general public see the information.

Lately, I have received mail without the date stamp, so I would suggest that you also have a confirmation of delivery that shows the date, or ask the postal service to hand-cancel it with the postmark date.

Once you receive it, do NOT open the envelope. Keep it in a sealed envelope in a safe place, so that the court could open it, if you needed additional proof that you had it in use first.

This isn't necessarily a legal strategy, but it has helped others prove their contributions to a book or a product. After all, if you have gone to great lengths to protect this information, and your copycat competitor did not, who do you think the judge will side with?

It is also important that you understand the various types of intellectual property violations: patent, trademark, and copyright infringement; unfair competition; and counterfeiting and piracy. I highly recommend you do some research so you will know the law about using other people's material, and protecting your own.