A Startup’s IP Checklist: Protecting the Brand, Code and Content

1. Clear the name and file a trademark application for the brand and logo before the public launch.
2. Make sure the company owns the IP. Founders, employees and contractors should sign assignment of all work done for the company.
3. Founders’ IP: assign any pre-incorporation code, designs or content into the company.
4. Open-source and third-party code: keep a list of licences and check they allow your intended use.
5. Confidentiality: use NDAs with vendors, investors and partners, and confidentiality clauses in employment terms.
6. Domain names and social handles: register them in the company’s name, not an individual’s.
7. Website terms and privacy policy: state ownership of content and handle personal data properly.
8. Keep records: dated drafts, design files and repositories as evidence of authorship.
9. Investor diligence: clean IP ownership is checked in funding rounds; gaps cost time and sometimes value.

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Important disclaimer: This article is general legal information, not legal advice. It does not create a lawyer-client relationship and is not an advertisement or solicitation under Bar Council of India rules. Verify current statutes, rules and judgments before relying on it.