INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION SERIES FOR YOUR SMALL FOOD BUSINESS
Five Types of IP and Which Ones Might You Might Need to Protect in Your Foodie Business
Protecting intellectual property (IP) is a something cottage foodies worry too much about… or maybe not enough.
What is worth protecting? And which IP type is best for a given concern?
Today is the first of six Cottage Foodology newsletter articles on IP, basically a short introduction to the five types.
For the next five articles we are going to introduce you to these categories, one per newsletter, and give you at least a working knowledge of when to apply each in your food making endeavors.
These ALL do relate to making and selling food, depending on situation. Some relate very closely, and some only if you expand BEYOND cottage foods, or into complementary efforts such as cookbook publishing.
These five categories of IP protection include:
TRADEMARKS (#2)
COPYRIGHTS (#3)
TRADE SECRETS (#4)
PATENTS (#5)
NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS (NDAs) (#6)
We’ll talk about NDAs last, since they apply primarily for when you grow into advanced food manufacturing.
For example if you a co-packer to take you on, and you want to protect yourself from a recipe getting knocked off.
Or if you get so big and famous that you experience demand to license your recipe.
Here is an info-graphic to summarize the other four primary IP protections:
As a cottage foodie, you probably engage in TRADE SECRETS (Article #4 in this upcoming series). After all, you spent time developing your recipe and fine-tuning your business methodology. Once you give them away, they are in the public domain.
On the other hand, others give away their recipe, or charge a few dollars. To each their own vision, of what she or he wants to protect!
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Next up is the decision whether or not to spend the time and money to TRADEMARK your business name, brand, or even product names.
Many nuances to this discussion, including things you are unlikely to know, so this becomes a very valuable discussion for almost anyone in business.
Our next Cottage Foodology newsletter will be on trademarks (#2 in this series). Besides many facts about applying for a registered trademark, I offer up a tip for getting some free protection while avoiding the cost of Federal trademark registration. (Plus, how to avoid losing this protection…which most do!)
And at the end, I will offer one cheap hack primarily for cottage foodies, that provides substantial protection, again without the high cost of registration with the UNITED STATES PATENT and TRADEMARK OFFICE.
COPYRIGHTS are the most well-known IP protection type. And ironically, the most misunderstood.
Right now, there is a live survey in the Cottage Food Business Facebook community on the subject of copyrighting recipes. Several dozen comments, and answers are all over the map.
Check it out and provide your own votes and/or comments. (And see what I mean about “most misunderstood”. Even those with a background argue over what is and is not copyrightable…)
Anyway, we provide some guidance with article #3 in this series.
Last, but not least… well maybe least useful for a cottage food business… are PATENTS.
For article #5 we will cover the how patents fit in the grand scheme, and help you recognize if you stumble across something that might create a nice stream of income for you.
I will get this series out as quickly as my time allows. Let me know if there is something else you want to hear about. (Related to IP or anything other information or challenge a small food business might run across in their operations!)
Best wishes as we head into the fall and upcoming holiday season!
And Happy Labor Day, you hard working foodie in business!
Mal Dell
The MONETIZATION CHEF
Helping Foodies Cook Up Profits!
PS If you know someone who would like to write an article for Cottage Foodology, we are looking for a few good foodies!
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Recommended Insurance Options For Cottage and Other Small Food Businesses:
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Miscellaneous
Today, we are going to jump into the subject of TRADEMARKS, what they are, how to search, and an obvious, but little known
Trademarks vs Copyrights