By Mary Juetten
It’s a widely-held belief that small businesses are the main driver of the US economy. Small businesses have a greater ability to create new jobs than middle and large-sized companies. So what is keeping them from protecting their intellectual property? While the federal government has implemented a number of measures to assist aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own business, it hasn’t done enough to educate them on the importance of intellectual property (IP) protection or the value of intangible assets. Below are a few IP-related challenges that US small businesses face today.
Lack of emphasis
It wasn’t until recently that the federal government recognized the need to develop informational tools about IP protection for American companies. This move originated in part from an article written by Scott Baldwin stating that only 15% of US small businesses conducting business overseas were aware that US patents don’t protect them abroad. It would thus seem fair to conclude that US startups are at a disadvantage when it comes to IP protection compared to larger, global companies. (more…)