The business world is changing right before our eyes. For previous generations, tangible assets held the most value. This means buildings, land, and supplies. Look no further than the S&P 500 index, which reflects the value of many of the largest companies in the United States. In 1975, 83 percent of assets were tangible. But times have changed. In 2020, only 10 percent of the assets were tangible. The other 90 percent were intangible, meaning intellectual property. Take an iPhone example. Ten percent of the value is in the parts and pieces. The other 90 percent of the value is in the IP that makes up the iPhone.
The new bestselling book—You Are an IP Company—reveals the what, the why, and the how about this new era of entrepreneurship. For example, Taylor Swift isn’t a singer, songwriter, or entertainer. She’s an IP Company—filing over 300 trademarks (and counting), including The Tortured Poets Department, Swiftites, Tayplay, and even her cat’s names—Meredith and Olivia Swift. Taylor Swift doesn’t protect her IP because she’s a big star. She’s a big star because she protects her IP.
Play-Doh also takes its IP seriously, protecting the scent of its modeling compound with the proprietary description, “Sweet, slightly musky, vanilla fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, combined with the smell of a salted, wheat-based dough.” Even The Coca-Cola Company knows its value is found in its trade secret, not the carbonated beverage it bottles.
Kary Oberbrunner, CEO of Igniting Souls, and Katherine Rubino, a Partner at Caldwell, the fastest-growing law firm in America for more than four years in a row, team up to offer a proven guide for identifying ideas and protecting them in the fastest, easiest, and most effective way possible.
Both seasoned experts in the field, these two co-authors know most entrepreneurs don’t think they have any intellectual property. The truth is, they just don’t know how to find it. The few who do, don’t know how to protect it. But unless they value their IP, clients, competitors, and collaborators won’t truly value them.
Get ready to discover:
- Why people should not promote their IP until they first protect their IP
- Which IP protection strategy makes sense for each unique situation
- How Disney, LEGO®, CrossFit, Dr Pepper, Magnolia, and Apple experienced exponential growth by leveraging their IP
- The 12-step plan to increase intellectual property influence and impact
- Forty-seven practical ways of monetizing IP so entrepreneurs and companies realize true income
Intellectual property protection is no longer just a topic for big businesses. Sure many start-ups don’t have the time or money for cumbersome intellectual property solutions. Rather, they’re just trying to get their ideas off the ground and they can’t afford to go slow because they need to quickly prove their value in the marketplace. But this doesn’t mean they need to sit out of the conversation.
Dr. Oberbrunner also serves as the Berry Chair of Entrepreneurship at Cedarville University. He saw how his entrepreneurial students needed a friction-free IP protection solution. Two of his students, Aaron Perry founder of Ultra Lyte Running and Cooper Peterson founder of RunGlubz, share their perspective about IP in recent podcast interviews.
Peterson said, “New companies have limited time and money. Wise ones invest those precious resources in adding value to their customers, not emptying their bank accounts in order to protect their IP with a patent. This is why Instant IP for me is the perfect solution. It gave me the peace of mind to keep taking action without the huge expense of IP protection. As a result, I now have more confidence than I thought was possible.”
Regardless of business size or scope, every business has IP because every business has a unique differentiation in the marketplace. It’s important to remember your ideas are valuable. Protect them today.
Written in partnership with Tom White
