Intellectual Property Strategies for the Software Seller

Originally published September 30, 2004

Article by Robert J. Crohan (Providence)

For many software companies, intellectual property just happens. Programmers write code. Sales staff find customers. Executives book revenues. The company may have a sales strategy and a long-range view of technology, but the legal protection of its intellectual property becomes an after-thought – a strategic orphan. Big mistake.

Companies that do not identify risks early, if not immediately, pay dearly when the day comes that a potential buyer or investor tries valuing the company’s core asset – its software. The strategy need not harmonize with every syllable of the business plan. However, the software protection regime must be more than a three-line checklist of patent filing deadlines, or the occasional piece of hate mail threatening to sue over pilfered computer code.