Recently, I had the pleasure of welcoming a group of nonintellectual property lawyers to my firm to discuss the common pitfalls that non-IP lawyers—and their clients—fall into. Drawing from my IP litigation and counseling experience, I have seen a number of recurring problems that could have been avoided or at least minimized if handled differently at the outset. These top three areas of risk include: the absence of an IP strategy; failure to protect trade secrets; and relying on business people or lawyers who are not IP litigators to send out cease and desist letters. These common risks can be mitigated by having a proactive approach to IP protection rather than a reactive, and potentially costly, approach.

Absence of an IP Strategy

The first, and most basic, pitfall or area of risk is when companies do not have a comprehensive IP strategy. Many lawyers, even IP lawyers, are not as focused on this key business and legal consideration as perhaps they should be. In fact, businesses of all sizes can fall short in this area, even very large ones.