Avoidance: Understandable, but often painful

Kurt Leyendecker //July 30, 2012//

Avoidance: Understandable, but often painful

Kurt Leyendecker //July 30, 2012//

This is about pain — the avoidable kind.

Lawyers can get a bad rap for shark-ism and sometimes, that’s fair. In this case, however, the pain is shared across the board, by both the lawyers and the clients. No one, including a hard-working and ethical attorney, likes seeing people have to spend blood, time and money on heartbreak and angst that is fairly easy and cheap to avoid.

Our firm has been involved in a number of litigations that were very costly to our clients, but which could have been avoided. For the most part, those costs could have been side-stepped if the clients had engaged an IP attorney to help them set up intellectual property policies and procedures; properly protect the intellectual property (IP); and clearly define ownership. 

Human nature being what it is and cash always being tight in a young growing company, non-essential tasks and expenditures are often put off as more pressing fires are fought. This short-sightedness, however, can come back to haunt. It can be painful to witness.

The math is simple: An IP attorney review of website content may cost up to $1000, depending on its size. However, if one or more third-party photos are found on the site, an expensive five- or six-figure copyright infringement settlement could be immediately eliminated.

Moreover, seeking the blessing of an IP attorney and filing for trademark registration before settling on a brand for a new product or service might set an enterprise back less than a couple thousand dollars, but could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation when, for example, a well-heeled competitor decides the brand is too close to one of theirs.

Registering copyrights for important materials and images typically cost a few hundred dollars each. It’s money well spent. Doing so can deter competitors from copying all or in part of the fruits of a business’ hard work and expenditures. Infringement could cost $150,000 per instance in statutory damages.

A business that institutes and follows a trade secrets policy that includes non-compete agreements with key employees might cost a few grand, all said and done. However, instituting a trade-secrets policy could prevent employees from being able to take specific knowledge learned while employed to a competitor. Not doing so, can cause a business to lose a competitive advantage worth hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars over time.

Having clear and concise intellectual property clauses drafted for use in contracts with third party contractors sets an organization back a few saw bucks. Alternatively, the matter often ends up in federal court as the business and the contractor both claim ownership to a valuable piece of IP. If lucky, the experience will settle before trial and a company may only be out a $100,000 or so.

Many a wise business owner understands these warnings, but immediate demands call out.  The phone rings or a colleague comes into the office, or a deliverable needs immediate attention. Several years later, a complaint and the prospect of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars defending the company in court presents itself.

Sometimes an ounce of prevention truly is world’s better than a cure. No one likes to watch money eaten up after-the-fact on avoidable circumstances. IP protective measures can and often are an easy and preventative business strategy — and the truth is that everyone, including good lawyers, feel better about that.