Introduction

Each type of intellectual property serves a different strategic function. Here’s a quick guide to help you decide when to use patents, trademarks, copyrights, or trade secrets—and when to simply move fast and skip formal protection.‍

Patents
‍Use when:
 • You're building a technical product with novel functionality (e.g., software algorithms, hardware    designs, biotech  processes).
 • You want long-term defensibility or signaling value for investors, acquirers, or partners.
 • You anticipate competitors reverse-engineering or independently developing similar technology.

Good for:
 • Software, machine learning models, robotics, medtech, semiconductors, and anything standards-   essential or core  to your differentiation.

 Avoid when:
 • You're iterating rapidly and haven’t settled on a specific implementation.
 • The invention is difficult to describe without revealing too much too early.

‍Key heuristic:
If someone else could independently build and sell what you’ve made, patent it.

Trade Secrets
‍Use when:
 • Your innovation is hard to reverse-engineer or discover independently.
 • You can keep it confidential internally (e.g., through limited access and NDAs).
 • Speed to market or secrecy provides a lasting edge.

Good for:
 • Algorithms, pricing models, internal processes, customer lists, or supply chain hacks.

Avoid when:
 • You’re required to publicly disclose information (e.g., regulatory filings or investor decks).
 • There’s a high risk of leakage from employees or partners.

‍Key heuristic:
If you can keep it secret and it gives you a competitive advantage, treat it as a trade secret.

Trademarks
‍Use when:
 • You’re launching a product or company name, logo, or slogan that you want exclusive rights to    in your category.
 • You want to prevent lookalikes or brand confusion.
 • You’re building a long-term brand with recognition or loyalty.

Good for:
 • Product names, logos, taglines, app names, service lines.

Avoid when:
 • The brand is still fluid or experimental.
 • You're operating under a white-label or stealth mode.
 
‍Key heuristic:
If you want customers to recognize and trust your brand, trademark it early.

Copyrights
‍Use when:
 • You create original content—code, UI, images, marketing copy, documentation, designs, or    training materials.
 • You want a legal basis to prevent copying or unauthorized reuse.

Good for:
 • Website designs, source code, illustrations, audio/video assets, documentation.

Avoid when:
 • You're using mostly third-party or open-source content with limited original work.

‍Key heuristic:
If you wrote or designed it, you probably already own the copyright. Register if it’s high-value.

“Provisional = placeholder”
‍🟡 Half true, mostly dangerous.

‍A provisional application buys you 12 months of priority—but only if it’s well written and fully enables the invention. A bare-bones sketch, marketing copy, or vague description won’t hold up later.

‍Reality: Provisional ≠ “draft.” It needs to read like a real patent application, or you risk losing your filing date.

‍Fix: Treat provisionals seriously. Use the full 12 months to refine claims and add technical detail—but don’t skimp upfront

“I’ll just wait until we’re funded”
‍🔴 Risky and often irreversible.

‍If you publicly disclose or launch before filing, you could lose patent rights—especially outside the U.S., where grace periods are limited or nonexistent.

‍Reality: You can’t retroactively protect what’s already public.

‍Fix: File early, even if it's just a narrow, well-supported provisional. Think of it as insurance.

“We’re open source, so IP doesn’t matter”
‍🟠 Not necessarily.

‍Open source licenses govern how your software can be used—but they don’t stop others from branding or patenting around your project.

‍Reality: You can still protect your name (trademark), UI (copyright), and key algorithms (patent, depending on license terms).

‍Fix: Align your IP strategy with your licensing model. Open source ≠ open season.

‍“Patents are only for big companies”
‍🔴 False—and increasingly outdated.

‍While litigation can be expensive, startups file patents for leverage, valuation, and acquisition. Many acquirers pay a premium for strong IP—even if it’s never enforced in court.

‍Reality: Startups use patents as signaling tools, competitive moats, and assets in M&A or licensing deals.

‍Fix: Think of patents as strategic assets, not legal weapons. File selectively but thoughtfully.

“I need to wait until the product is finished”
‍🟠 By then, it might be too late.

‍You don’t need a fully built product to file. You just need a clear description of how it works and what’s new.

‍Reality: IP protection is about what you conceive, not what you ship.

‍Fix: File when the invention is fully enabled on paper—even if the code or prototype is still in progress.