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Operations & Back-office

How do I protect my IP: assignments, trademarks, and patents on a budget?

First make sure the company, not you or your contractors, owns everything: signed IP assignment agreements are the first thing investors check, and pre-incorporation work legally belongs to the individual until assigned. Trademarks are cheap insurance; run an AI-assisted clearance search before you fall in love with a name. Patents are slow and expensive, so most software startups should file provisionals selectively and spend the savings on shipping.

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Intellectual Property IP Assignment

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The same ground, over in Co-founders, team & legal, our Starting Up track.

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