What are 5 Different Ways to Protect Your IP in Crowdfunding?

Once you have dedicatedly created an invention or created some new technology, the technical element of your work is done. But, one thing is to remain to get that invention or unique work into the public domain and then to use the work for the objective it was developed for. A lot of financial support is required throughout the procedure, along with some business help, which is where an investor comes into the image. The most general ways of investment are through crowdfunding, angel investors, public listing, etc. If the invention comes under Intellectual Property^[1], safeguarding it becomes the top-most priority, and in such conditions, crowdfunding might be the best option to pursue your investment goals. But before that, you must know the different ways to protect your IP in crowdfunding. Scroll down to check the five different ways to protect your IP in crowdfunding.

What is the Meaning of Crowdfunding?

Before we discuss the five different ways to protect your IP in crowdfunding, let us first understand the meaning of crowdfunding. It is the method of increasing money by accepting small amounts from multiple people. It is usually done through the internet, where it is easy to acquire an enormous response and get as much attention as possible. Although identical to benefit events, crowdfunding differs in the media used, which is the internet. There are three significant supports involved in the process; the individual with the idea that requires funding, the people, fascinated in funding that idea and the intermediary platform that brings the other two combined. The campaigns may be donation-based, reward-based, debt-based, or equity-based. Crowdfunding is deemed as one of the low liability types of fundraising options as the amount being invested by a person is small and hence the payback they expect is not huge. But, whatever be the amount, the individual putting in money will ask regarding the invention & you have no other choice but to make it public.

Safeguarding Intellectual Property

Your invention is your IP, so it is recommendable to disclose it to anybody without having essential confidentiality protection. Filing Trademark, Patent, Design Registration applications are the most powerful types of protecting IP in crowdfunding and ensuring that your Intellectual Property is not imitated by any illegal person. Protecting your IP in crowdfunding is the essential thing that should be pursued during participation in crowdfunding. When it comes to investors considering your idea, there is some advantage anticipated by them as well. If the invention is innovative, any individual willing to fund it will be keen to obtain the secrets of its working as well. Safeguarding IP or keeping it under wraps is very difficult in such conditions. But, there exists a way to get around this.

5 Ways to Safeguard Your IP in Crowdfunding

As you already know that in crowdfunding, there are large numbers of investors involved, the dynamics of the advantages being provided shaft a little. Depend on the amount being invested; they get some gifts or, in few cases, a percentage of stake. Through the years, sharing your Intellectual Property Rights with the people participating in crowdfunding is something that has almost never happened. But, the difference here & the deception as well lie in the thought of sharing Intellectual Property Rights and disclosing your invention itself. There are some ways to safeguard your IP in crowdfunding, and you can check the five different ways to protect your IP in crowdfunding:

1. Trademark Protecting: Trademark Registration of your products name or services name aids to protect and encourage your brand. If there is some attractive name that you have to think of, it is recommendable to get it Trademarked and then use it in a crowdfunding campaign to attract more investors. Establishing a brand name from the get-go will make your invention more unforgettable to the people involved and aid in marketing.
2. Selecting Suitable Jurisdiction: It is one of the best ways to protect your IP in crowdfunding. While choosing a platform for crowdfunding, make sure to check the region; you must pick it as your funding platform. Even if the platform operates in your region of choice, it doesn’t mean that nation runs it, and thus, you might fall sufferer from public disclosure in other countries where no Patent Registration is obtained. Hence, it is highly advisable to examine your target markets earlier and then does a profound context search on the platforms you have in your brain before choosing any.
3. Patent Protection: Filing a Provisional Patent application before you go for funding offers you a protection net. Such applications help you safeguard your idea with a priority date & also buy also some time to later file your provisional application in due course. The very reason for crowdfunding is to get tiny amounts from numerous people, so obtaining a provisional application before that explains that you are protecting the invention & also not spending much on this.

Moreover, the money raised via the campaign can be used in financing the process of Patent later on. After filing the Patent application, any public disclosure to the potential investor will not obstruct your invention protection. Any prior disclosure may exclude you from getting any Patent safety in the future. Investors may get excited to share their work & get investors quickly; however, such a lapse will cost one the possibility to safeguard their Patent ever again.

• Alterations or Suggestions by Investors: The rules for the addition of any alterations proposed by the capable investors for the invention may change from area to area. Such complicated rules should be checked out, and any changes in rules that need to make should be conveyed to prevent any problems from cropping up later. As your complete invention is disclosed to the forum, almost everyone will have some suggestions to improve it, but as the inventor, you have to be prudent in selecting what alters may be made.
• IP Protection for the Platform: This is also the best way to protect your IP in crowdfunding. There are some crowdfunding platforms that do give the investors some Intellectual Property protection, apart from the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) they have for any campaign. In such instances, there is a limitation of the messages and the comments put on the forum with any intentional or accidental violation of your invention on the platform. In the case of a breach or infringement being noticed, the platform must have severe measures in place to correct the problem or discard the campaign altogether to safeguard the rights.

Conclusion

Although crowdfunding is not deemed one of the traditional ways of investment has helped fund some creative ideas that have become highly successful, like Fidget Cube and Oculus. But the part that bothers the most inventors is safeguarding their IP in the crowdfunding process, as tracking & continuing every minor violation can be tiring. By remembering all the ways to protect IP in crowdfunding, one may ensure IP protection and gain good funding via crowdfunding.

Read our article:IP Strategies for Tech Start-ups – A Complete Guide