Episode 537 - “Lock It Before You Launch It”

This episode of The 7 Minute Leadership Podcast explains how to legally protect your big idea before launch, with practical steps on trademarks, copyrights, and non-disclosure agreements. Learn how to secure your brand before someone else claims it.

Host: Paul Falavolito
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajving. This
is the seven minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul
fella Aledo.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hello everyone, and welcome to this seven minute leadership podcast.
It's episode five thirty seven. Today's episode is for the creators,
the dreamers, the innovators, the people sitting on a great
idea and wondering how to protect it before the world
sees it. Maybe you've got the next big tech product.

(00:42):
Maybe it's a brand name, a course, a podcast, a book,
or even just a phrase you want to build a
movement around. The idea is yours, and before you shout
it from the rooftops, you need to protect it like
a't your identity, because in many ways it is. So
let's talk about intellectual property more importantly, how to guard

(01:06):
your idea before it becomes someone else's success story. Step one,
Know what you've got. The first thing to do is
figure out what kind of intellectual property your idea falls under.
If it's a brand name, logo, slogan, or product name,
you're in trademark territory. If it's original written content, artwork, music,

(01:30):
or videos, that's copyright. If it's an invention, you're looking
at a patent. If it's a method, process or formula
and you want to keep it a secret, think trade secret.
Let's say you've come up with a brand name that
you know is gold. It's catchy, it's memorable, it's the

(01:52):
kind of thing you can see on hats, water bottles, websites.
You name it. That's when it's time to talk trademarks.
Step two. Start with a search before you spend money
or build a brand around it. Do a simple search.
Head to the United States Patent and Trademark Office USPTO

(02:14):
dot gov and use the tests search tool. See if
your name or something very similar is already registered. If
it is, you may need to tweak your idea. If
it's not good news, you might be the first to
the finish line. And also check domain availability, social media handles,

(02:35):
common usage via a Google search, and if all that
checks out, it's time to lock it. In. Step three,
file the trademark. You can file a trademark on your
own for around two hundred and fifty to three hundred
and fifty dollars per class. It's not complicated, but it's

(02:55):
not casual either, you're going to need to choose your mark,
which is your word, logo, or phrase, Identify the class
of goods or services you're protecting, and show that you've
already been using the name in commerce or plan to.
And yes, you can file a intent to use trademark

(03:17):
if you're not quite live yet but planned to be soon.
That gives you time to finish development while holding your
place in line. If you're not comfortable doing this alone,
hire a trademark attorney or use a service like legal
Zoom or a trademark engine. You don't need to break
the bank to protect your idea. Let's talk copyrights. Copyrights

(03:42):
made easy. Let's say your big idea is a piece
of content, a book, a course, a blog series, a
podcast episode, or a graphic design. Here's the good news.
The moment you create it, it's automatically protected under copyright law.
But if you want to officially register the copyright, which

(04:05):
gives you legal proof and protection, head over to copyright
dot gov. Filing costs about forty five to sixty five
dollars and can protect you in court if someone tries
to rip off your work. Step five, don't overshare too early.
This is one of the most common mistakes I see

(04:28):
leaders oversharing their big idea in meetings, online, or even
in casual conversation until you filed, protected, and prepared. Keep
it in the vault. If you have to share with
someone like a developer, designer, or partner, use a non
disclosure agreement in NDA. It doesn't have to be fancy.

(04:51):
There are free templates online and it's better than nothing.
In step six, treat your idea like it's already worth
millions because it could be. One of the greatest leadership
moves you can make is protecting the future version of
your business before anyone else sees it. You don't need
a million followers to have a brand worth protecting. All

(05:15):
you need is belief in what you've created in a
plan to keep it yours. So here's your leadership homework
for today. Number one, do the search. Number two, file
the protection, number three, keep your idea close until it's

(05:37):
legally locked in. And number four, when in doubt, just
make sure you talk to an expert because nothing hurts
more than watching someone else win with your idea. This
has been the seven minute Leadership podcast, and I thank
you for listening.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
For more. Paul Fellovlito Podcast. Visit Paul fellowalito dot com.