How important is it to protect our intellectual property?

Question

We are about to start a project and the subject of protecting our intellectual property came up. Please share your thoughts on the subject.

jimd · Accepted Answer

Protecting your intellectual property is very important and starts when you select an engineering or manufacturing partner. Carefully review all proposals and contracts to ensure that your company is the rightful owner to all deliverables. You can add provisions to a contract that stipulate that the work was done by hire of your company, thus ensuring your company is the rightful owner of all work performed. Never except a simple email quote for a project, get a detailed proposal that covers the requirements, technical approach, scope, documentation, deliverables, schedule, cost and terms, and your project will be a success with no surprises.