Karthika Perumal, Ph.D., Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson an international law firm with award-winning legal teams across the US and UK. came and spoke to the Tech Bridge community and startup business owners earlier this week. Her presentation highlighted IP (intellectual property) strategy for start-up businesses, and the importance of protecting a fledgling business intangible assets. One take-home point of her presentation was how important it is for startup businesses to think through their product or idea and make sure they do all that they can for their company/product to be protected.

For most start-ups, IP strategy and protection is often overlooked as it seems a lesser-priority for a start-up business to worry about, However, as Dr. Perumal said, that is not the case. Dr. Perumal stressed the importance of securing a company’s IP early on in order to protect a company from being sued by its competitors. Dr. Perumal also went in to depth on all the forms IP could take on, such as patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights.

As Dr. Perumal stressed, a well-crafted IP strategy is essential for a startup’s success, offering protection and a competitive edge that can be pivotal in the journey from a startup business to a thriving enterprise.