Protecting Your Intellectual Property: Why Every Entrepreneur Must Safeguard Their Ideas
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of wealth? For most people, it’s tangible—money in the bank, real estate, stocks, or physical assets. But let me introduce you to a critical concept that doesn’t always get enough attention: intellectual property (IP). Today, I’m diving into why it matters and how it can make or break your business. Are you protecting your intellectual property by taking the necessary steps to ensure your ideas are protected and monetized?
Author and entrepreneur Kary Oberbrunner has made it his mission to help people protect their ideas, brands, and creative work. In our conversation, Kary shared some powerful lessons and strategies about IP that every business owner, entrepreneur, and even everyday creator needs to understand.
The Surprising Truth About Protecting Your Intellectual Property
Kary kicked off the conversation with a mind-blowing statistic. Back in 1975, only 17% of the S&P 500’s assets were intangible—things like patents, trademarks, and other IP. Fast forward to today, and a staggering 90% of the value of those same companies is now tied up in intangible assets. In fact, by 2024, they estimate this number to be as high as 96%! If that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what will.
In short, the world has shifted. We’re no longer in a world where physical assets dominate. Instead, your ideas, your brand, and your processes are often your most valuable business assets. And yet, many of us overlook the importance of protecting them.
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Table of Contents
About Kary Oberbrunner
KARY OBERBRUNNER is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of 14 books. As CEO of Igniting Souls® and Instant IP™ he helps abundant-minded & coachable-competent entrepreneurs PUBLISH, PROTECT, and PROMOTE their intellectual property and turn it into 18 streams of income so they can change the world.
An award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and inventor, he’s been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, CBS, Fox News, Yahoo, and many other major media outlets. His TEDx has been viewed over 1 million times.
As a young man, he suffered from severe stuttering, depression, and self-injury. Today a transformed man, Kary ignites souls: speaking internationally on a variety of topics and consulting the world’s top entrepreneurs and brands regarding publishing, protecting, and promoting intellectual property.
He has several earned degrees, including a Bachelor of Arts, Masters in Divinity, and Doctorate in Transformational Leadership. He also serves as the Berry Chair of Entrepreneurship at Cedarville University, where he teaches on the topics of Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing.
Why You Must Protect Your Ideas
If you’re a business owner or an entrepreneur, you already know that your ideas, your innovations, and your unique ways of doing things are what set you apart. But here’s the challenge: most of us don’t think about protecting those ideas until it’s too late. That’s why this conversation with Kary Oberbrunner was so important. His focus on helping businesses recognize their intellectual property as their greatest asset—and protecting it—was eye-opening.
What if someone came along and copied your brand, your process, or your proprietary method? Without protection, you could find yourself out of business or stuck in a legal battle. But protecting your IP is not just for giant companies like Apple or Nike. It’s something we all need to think about—whether you’re running a family business, a startup, or a solo enterprise.
In this blog, I’ll walk you through the key takeaways from our interview with Kary, the importance of safeguarding your intellectual property, and how you can take steps today to protect what’s yours.
Understand the Value of Your Intellectual Property
One of the most critical takeaways from Kary’s insight is recognizing that IP is everywhere in your business. It’s not just about big patents or complex legal maneuvers. It’s the small things that make your business unique—your brand, your processes, your customer interactions.
Kary shared an example from his own experiences: a guy he met who worked with major brands like Disney and Lego but didn’t realize that his entire business was built on IP. He thought his ideas weren’t worth protecting. This is a common trap. As Kary said, “You can’t read the label when you’re inside the jar.” Often, we don’t see the immense value in our everyday business operations until someone else tries to take them.
Whether it’s a unique way of attracting customers, a proprietary process for delivering your service, or even just your company’s name, these are all forms of intellectual property. And they need to be protected.
Timing is Everything in Protecting Your Intellectual Property
Kary introduced us to the idea of “first to use” in IP protection. Essentially, the law protects those who get there first. Whether it’s trademarks, patents, or copyrights, the key is to protect your ideas before someone else can. This was a revelation for many of us because it’s not just about having a great idea—it’s about taking the right steps to make sure that idea stays yours.
Kary explained that waiting too long to protect your IP could mean losing out entirely. In one story, he shared how a competitor could take your unprotected IP, rush ahead, and lock you out of your own innovations. Can you imagine? Years of work gone because someone else beat you to the punch.
That’s why it’s so important to take action as soon as possible. Even if you’re just starting out or your business is still small, protect what’s unique about your business. Your future self will thank you.
Protecting Your Intellectual Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated or Expensive
One of the biggest misconceptions about IP protection is that it’s costly and complicated. Many people think they need to hire expensive lawyers and spend months (if not years) fighting legal battles. Kary showed us that this isn’t always the case. In fact, he’s developed a system called Instant IP, which allows you to protect your ideas instantly through blockchain technology.
What’s fascinating about this system is that it bypasses the traditional patent or trademark routes, which can take years and cost thousands of dollars. Instead, it creates a digital fingerprint of your idea, text, or file and protects it on the blockchain. This means you have proof that you were the first to come up with it, and it’s securely protected from that moment onward
And get this: you can do this for a fraction of the cost—just $97. Compared to the thousands of dollars and years of waiting for traditional IP protection, this is a game-changer, especially for small business owners or startups who want to protect their ideas but don’t have a huge budget to do so.
Protecting Your Intellectual Property is an Ongoing Process
One of the most valuable insights from our conversation with Kary was that protecting your IP isn’t a one-and-done deal. It’s something you have to think about continuously. Every time you create a new idea, product, or service, you need to think about how to protect it.
Kary gave the example of Taylor Swift, who has filed over 300 trademarks, including not just her music and merchandise but even her cats’ names! That’s how serious she is about protecting her intellectual property. It’s a good reminder that if you want to be at the top of your game, you need to treat your ideas with the same level of importance.
Protect What’s Yours, Before It’s Too Late
So here’s the bottom line: if you’re in business, your ideas, your processes, and your brand are some of your most valuable assets. Don’t wait until it’s too late to protect them. Take steps today to ensure that no one else can steal what you’ve worked so hard to create.
From big names like Taylor Swift to small business owners like you and me, protecting your intellectual property is one of the smartest moves you can make to safeguard your financial future and ensure your business continues to grow.
Take Control of Your Intellectual Property Today
If you want to dive deeper into the steps to protect your IP and hear more from Kary Oberbrunner, I highly recommend listening to our full podcast episode. You’ll walk away with actionable insights and a clear understanding of how to safeguard your intellectual wealth.
Remember, success leaves clues. Model the successful few, not the crowd, and build a life and business you love. Check out Instant IP to protect your ideas today. You can find out more by visiting [Instant IP](https://instantiptoday.com).
Ready to take the next step? Don’t wait. Protect your ideas now, before someone else does.
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