If you have a patent that has been approved, you never know if or when someone could infringe upon the rights of your new patent, so it’s best to protect yourself. Maintaining a patent over time can become extremely expensive, depending on the competition in the market. The best way to protect yourself legally is to purchase intellectual property insurance.     

What Is Intellectual Property Insurance?

Intellectual property insurance is often known as patent insurance and is something that all new inventors should consider getting. While IP insurance can seem to be unnecessary because you’re protecting something intangible, many lawyers say that inventors and CEO’s need it the most in order to protect themselves, their ideas, their companies and assets.

There are two types of intellectual property insurance: defensive and offensive (or enforcement) insurance. Enforcement intellectual property insurance can protect you if someone infringes upon your intellectual property or patent. Defensive intellectual property insurance allows you to protect yourself in the case that someone accuses you of intellectual property infringement.

Why Should I Get Intellectual Property Insurance?

In the case that you have to go through intellectual property litigation, be armed ahead of time by knowing how expensive it is. Without it, you could be even worse off.

Without intellectual property insurance, you are at the mercy of those who are suing you or those who have infringed upon your patent and patent trolls. Patent trolls are entities that hold a bunch of patents, but they don’t actually create anything. They mostly target small companies that are susceptible to financial risk if they have to get tied up in litigation for long periods of time. This makes getting sued by patent trolls brutal for these small companies, because they can ruin them financially with the power they wield.

When Is the Right Time for Intellectual Property Insurance

So if you could be at risk for a patent lawsuit at any time, when is the best time to get patent insurance?

The response varies. Some say it would be more useful to spend your money developing your invention and getting a patent than getting IP insurance right away. On the other hand, some say that inventors and CEO’s are increasingly recognizing the importance of intellectual property insurance in order to protect their inventions and patents, which could indicate an earlier recognition of its importance.

No matter whether or not you choose to get intellectual property insurance for your patent or invention, the choice is a personal and financial one that only you can make.

Marjorie Young, the Senior Vice President of E.G. Bowman, puts it best with a great tip of advice. “Ultimately, you may decide you don’t need IP insurance,” Bowman wrote in a February 2014 article on the company’s website. “But the time to investigate is now. Once you have been sued or your IP has been infringed, it will be too late.”

Patent Research Can Help You Make the Right Call

While we at Global Patent Solutions don’t provide intellectual property insurance, we perform high-level, reliable patent searches that can help inform your patent plan and give you more information about the potential risks and the potential value of your patent(s). This empowers you to make smart value judgments that will influence your business strategy moving forward. Contact us today for more information.