Five things start-ups need to know about protecting intellectual property

The early stages of a start-up business can be a minefield. Avoid potential battles later on by considering at least these five intellectual property essentials and common misconceptions about them.

1. Signed non-disclosure agreements are not always practical

As lawyers, we generally prefer to see the person you are discussing your confidential information with sign a non-disclosure agreement. This will make it clear that the parties agreed what information was confidential and that it was intended not to be further disclosed. If the other party then breaks this agreement, the breach will be much easier to enforce. However, the start-up world is not always conducive to such formalities.