What are trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets, and how should you use them in your startup? Investors frequently pepper startups with questions about their intellectual property and how well it is protected. Most founders know very little about this somewhat arcane and complex topic. Fortunately, with a bit of information, you can start making the right decisions for your business and speaking intelligently about the issue with angels and VCs.

I brought in Adam Philipp to get you up to speed on the basics and some initial strategies. Adam is the founder of the IP law firm AEON Law, a patent attorney, and has been practicing IP law for over 25 years.

If you have any questions or would like us to go deeper on some topic, please let me know in the comments. I am sure Adam would be happy to come back for another episode. You can find Adam’s law firm at aeonlaw.com and follow him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamphilipp/ and @AdamPhilipp on ClubHouse where he can be found offering the occasional “Patents and IP Law AMA.”

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In this interview we covered:

1:37 What is intellectual property?

5:08 What should founders do early on to protect their intellectual property?

10:05 What are the elements of a patent?

14:22 How can a founder talk safely to investors without an NDA?

19:54 When should you file your patents?

24:27 Which provisional patents are worth converting to full patents?

27:32 How do you enforce patents?

34:30 How should startups use copyright?

42:10 Patents vs. Trade Secrets