©, ™, ®, K -- Most of you recognize the symbols for copyright, claimed trademark, registered trademark, service mark as Intellectual Property (IP) identifiers. Many of you (and some of you with my help) have applied to the Copyright and Trademark Offices for the IP protection registration provides. If you are one of my clients, you know full well that the protection afforded by the government is only the first step in protecting the IP you have created. Using the IP identifiers and proper form consistently continue to protect the IP. Failure to follow proper form on an ongoing basis can result in your IP, and your investment in it, being lost to "public domain." In the Internet era, the chances of IP being improperly used and stolen has increased exponentially.

Become familiar with the requirements needed to protect your IP creations on an ongoing basis. Create a style "book" of how it is supposed to be used and share this "book" with printers, web designers and those creating any kind of presentation materials for you and your business. Your IP demonstrates your uniqueness, so protect it.