Post by lairezippert on Oct 29, 2013 6:37:43 GMT 4
Intellectual property issues and crowdfunding
Intellectual property refers to business assets that have no substance but which have value. The most common types of intellectual property are patents, copyrights, and trademarks/service marks. These assets require funding to bring them to market and are a popular type of crowdfunding offering. For example, a new product that is patentable might be presented, or a book or play that is subject to copyright. Protecting rights to intellectual property is an important consideration when presenting projects to a crowdfunding site.
Two types of intellectual property issues are showing up in relation to crowdfunding:
People are putting up content that someone else lays claim to, so there are lawsuits about who owns a patent or copyright. For example, if Person A puts up a photo on their crowdfunding page and Person B claims to own the copyright, Person A can be sued for copyright infringement.
Ideas on crowdfunding pages are being stolen by others; knockoffs of patented products or theft of books or trademarked items, for example.
IPWatchdog cites several instances of theft of patentable products or copyrighted content on crowdfunding sites.
Patents
Putting a new product on a crowdfunding site exposes the inventor to the possibility that his or her idea could be copied. The head of IndieGoGo said, "We are not liable for any of that stuff." And Kickstarter says:
Being open and sharing ideas is an essential part of Kickstarter. The platform is collaborative by nature, and is a powerful community-building tool for project creators. If you are unwilling to share information about your project with potential backers then Kickstarter probably isn’t for you.
If your business has a patentable product, you might want to file a provisional patent to give you some protection while you do additional testing.
Copyrights and Trademarks/Service Marks
To use images, music, artwork, video, or other copyright protected content on a crowdfunding site, you must have the copyright or a license to use the content. If you want to protect content that you own, copyright it before you put it up on crowdfunding site. The same suggestion applies for trademarks and service marks. Use the appropriate symbols to show that you have applied for a trademark/service mark or that you own the copyright.
Research first, then protect
Before you put content on a crowdfunding website that might be owned by someone else, check to see who owns the patent, copyright, or trademark. Then begin the process of protecting your work:
Start the patent application process.
Secure a copyright
Apply for a trademark or service mark
Intellectual property refers to business assets that have no substance but which have value. The most common types of intellectual property are patents, copyrights, and trademarks/service marks. These assets require funding to bring them to market and are a popular type of crowdfunding offering. For example, a new product that is patentable might be presented, or a book or play that is subject to copyright. Protecting rights to intellectual property is an important consideration when presenting projects to a crowdfunding site.
Two types of intellectual property issues are showing up in relation to crowdfunding:
People are putting up content that someone else lays claim to, so there are lawsuits about who owns a patent or copyright. For example, if Person A puts up a photo on their crowdfunding page and Person B claims to own the copyright, Person A can be sued for copyright infringement.
Ideas on crowdfunding pages are being stolen by others; knockoffs of patented products or theft of books or trademarked items, for example.
IPWatchdog cites several instances of theft of patentable products or copyrighted content on crowdfunding sites.
Patents
Putting a new product on a crowdfunding site exposes the inventor to the possibility that his or her idea could be copied. The head of IndieGoGo said, "We are not liable for any of that stuff." And Kickstarter says:
Being open and sharing ideas is an essential part of Kickstarter. The platform is collaborative by nature, and is a powerful community-building tool for project creators. If you are unwilling to share information about your project with potential backers then Kickstarter probably isn’t for you.
If your business has a patentable product, you might want to file a provisional patent to give you some protection while you do additional testing.
Copyrights and Trademarks/Service Marks
To use images, music, artwork, video, or other copyright protected content on a crowdfunding site, you must have the copyright or a license to use the content. If you want to protect content that you own, copyright it before you put it up on crowdfunding site. The same suggestion applies for trademarks and service marks. Use the appropriate symbols to show that you have applied for a trademark/service mark or that you own the copyright.
Research first, then protect
Before you put content on a crowdfunding website that might be owned by someone else, check to see who owns the patent, copyright, or trademark. Then begin the process of protecting your work:
Start the patent application process.
Secure a copyright
Apply for a trademark or service mark