What’s the most valuable aspect of your business? Is it the bricks and mortar? The equipment? Or is it something intangible?

While you can’t touch it, feel it or see it, intellectual property when defined as “knowledge” or “know how” is often times the real equity of a business, and if it’s lost, it can bring that business to its knees. Whether a new employee brings in trade secrets from a competitor or an existing employee leaves with the notion that he or she will share your secrets, either spells disaster.

The Founders School series on Intellectual Property illustrates the employment practices you put in place are critical to protecting your business. An expert in the realm of intellectual property, attorney Peter D. McDermott explains how to develop a strategy for protecting your IP using best practices when it comes to employee policies and procedures.

Peter covers the three main areas in any good IP strategy:

1. Employee intakes (0:34) – Be sure they aren’t bringing in trade secrets from other companies
2. Employee agreements (1:49) – Agreements employees sign to protect confidentiality or impose non-competes
3. Employee departures (4:34) – How to make sure someone doesn’t leave with your companies’ ideas or secrets
4. Employee Record Keeping (5:50) – Making sure employees keep track of their ideas or inventions while they work at your company

If your business is built on proprietary information, take a few moments to view this Founder’s School episode.  In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn how to develop and implement an IP strategy that protects you, your company and your employees.