How to Protect Your IP in P2P Alliances

Kumar Vinnakota, partner at Janik Vinnakota LLP, was recently quoted in an excellent article authored by Kris Blackmon and published at ChannelFutures.com. We’ve included below some of the quotes. Please visit the link at the bottom of this post to read the original article in its entirety.

“The IP is the company’s first asset, so it should be treated as the most valuable,” says Kumar Vinnakota, a partner at Janik Vinnakota LLP, a Dallas-based law firm specializing in IP and patent protection. “Sadly, most companies don’t realize this and the protections are an afterthought, which causes cracks in the overall foundation of the company in the future if the IP is ‘disruptive.’”

In the end, partners shouldn’t try to go it alone when it comes to protecting the IP they’re building their business on, especially if they’re hoping to attract investors or potential buyers. Safeguards and protection around the tech that hopefully will be disruptive minimizes the company’s risk and increases its valuation, says Vinnakota.

“The safeguards that investors look for include NDAs, IP assignments, effective IP management for patents, trade secrets or trademarks, and a plan for diversifying these assets, while also trying to take the core business ideas to market.” – Kumar Vinnakota

Source: http://www.channelfutures.com/channel-futures/how-protect-your-ip-p2p-alliances