Do Your Competitors Cheat?

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What's this?  Cheat?  Who cheats?  Do you ever find that your competitors steal away your ideas or steal business by playing off other companies’ hard-earned brand reputation?

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, intellectual property theft steers nearly $250 billion away from U.S. companies each year. For small companies and startups, those lost revenues can be the difference between thriving and surviving.

How can entrepreneurs and small businesses protect their intellectual property rights, but also how they can protect themselves from getting sued for violating someone else’s IP rights?

David J. Marr and Jeff Van Winkle are both attorneys at the Detroit-based law firm Clark Hill PLC, which has 13 offices around the country and specializes in working with entrepreneurial companies.  Below is an interview they participated in with MiBiz.  Find out what they have to say on where small business owners should put their money when it comes to protecting intellectual property.

Small Business Guide:  Intellectual Property