How to Protect Your Intellectual Capital – The Smartest Protection Begins with Awareness

Accordingly, it is important to recall what is meant by intellectual property and what forms of protection are offered under the applicable legal framework — as many people are unaware of the value of their intellectual assets, or how to protect and use them most effectively.

Intellectual property first and foremost includes all registrable rights, collectively referred to as industrial property. These encompass:

• Inventions, protected by patents;

• Designs, protected by registration as industrial designs;

• Distinctive signs used in commercial activity to differentiate one trader’s goods or services from another’s, protected as trademarks;

• Trade names, protected through registration with the Commercial Register, as well as other commercial identifiers protected even without registration;

• Plant varieties, protected by plant variety rights certificates;

• Geographical indications, which identify products as originating in a specific place or region and whose qualities, reputation or other characteristics are essentially linked to that origin, protected through registration;

• Topographies of semiconductor products (the “map” or design of an integrated circuit, showing how transistors, resistors, and connections are arranged on a microchip), protected by registration of the chip’s structural layout.

Moreover, protection is limited in time and remains valid only for the registration term permitted by law. Once this term expires, any person is generally free to use the object as they wish.

For certain types of industrial property — such as inventions or designs — public disclosure or market testing before filing for registration may jeopardize legal protection. In most jurisdictions, novelty is a key requirement, and registration must be filed within the prescribed period to preserve it. Some exceptions exist, for example, public display at recognized international exhibitions without losing novelty.

As a result, a business often has to invest resources in registration before launching a product on the market and before knowing whether it will succeed commercially. Strategic decisions must therefore be made early to determine in which countries protection should be sought, typically those representing potential markets.

While an author’s economic rights are extensive, the core purpose of copyright is to protect works from copying, alteration, and unauthorised use.

By contrast, industrial property protection is often broader, as it can extend to protection against imitation and other forms of unfair competition — a principle recognized in industrial property law since the late 19th century.

However, not all creative outputs are eligible for copyright protection. Copyright does not apply to ideas, methods, processes, or mathematical concepts, which can nevertheless represent valuable intellectual resources.

Such results of intellectual effort can be protected through the legal framework for the protection of confidential information. In practice, maintaining valuable information in secrecy is one of the most frequently relied-upon forms of intellectual property protection.

• Secrecy: it is not generally known or easily accessible to persons who normally deal with such information;

• Commercial value: it has actual or potential commercial value because it is secret;

• Reasonable safeguards: reasonable measures have been taken to preserve its secrecy, such as secure storage, restricted access, and confidentiality agreements with those who may access or receive it.

The choice between maintaining secrecy and pursuing registration as a form of protection is particularly important for inventions that could potentially meet the requirements for patent protection.

Thus, certain aspects become of particular importance.

Confidentiality agreements. One must ensure that all employees and any other persons with access to the information are bound by confidentiality obligations.

Identifying confidential information. All involved individuals should clearly understand what information must be kept secret. Such information should be defined in policies, guidelines, or contractual clauses, and appropriately marked as “Confidential” or “Secret” (for example, in the file name or by watermark).

Restricting access. Only authorized persons should have access — for instance, through safes, locked cabinets, or password-protected electronic systems.

Sharing information with third parties. When disclosing information to external partners (such as research providers), ensure they are bound by confidentiality and non-use obligations. Including contractual penalties can be crucial, as proving actual damages may be difficult.

Risks of disclosure. Once information becomes public, controlling or restricting its use becomes virtually impossible. This results in a loss of both protection and competitive advantage.

Secrecy is less suitable for inventions or technical solutions that can be discovered through reverse engineering of a product. However, where information is difficult to uncover — for instance, production methods or technical processes — secrecy can be a highly effective and economically efficient protection method, particularly when customers are limited and unlikely to manufacture competing products (such as in the defence sector).

Secrecy is also appealing because it is not limited in time or territory – as long as confidentiality is maintained, protection may last indefinitely and worldwide.

• is territorial – it applies only in countries where the patent is registered;

• is time-limited – with a maximum duration of 20 years;

• requires financial investment – including registration and annual maintenance fees;

• makes the invention public – since the patent application is published and its content may be freely used in jurisdictions where protection is not in force.

At the same time, this system grants exclusive rights to the patent holder in all registered countries. Without authorization, third parties may not manufacture, sell, distribute, use, import, export, or store the patented product, or use the patented process. Thus, even though the invention becomes publicly accessible, third parties cannot exploit it commercially without the patent holder’s consent.

If infringement occurs, the rights holder must take action, for example by demanding that the infringer:

• cease the infringement and refrain from further use;

• compensate for damages or pay a contractual penalty;

• agree on license terms if authorized use is acceptable for remuneration.

If negotiations fail, the rights holder may bring a civil action before a court, and in serious or intentional cases, criminal proceedings may be initiated.

Registered rights offer an additional advantage: the holder can request customs authorities to monitor borders and detain goods suspected of infringing intellectual property (e.g., trademarks, designs, or patents). This measure enables customs to identify and seize counterfeit goods, preventing them from entering the market and reducing losses for the rights holder.

There is no one universal solution – each company should develop its own intellectual property strategy, taking into account costs, risks, and future development directions. Intellectual property protection is not merely a legal formality, but a strategic investment in corporate security, sustainability, and competitiveness.

Businesses should regularly assess whether their intellectual assets are adequately protected, and when in doubt, seek advice from a specialist, who can design an effective and long-term protection strategy — evaluating all relevant circumstances, future plans, and growth potential, and identifying the most appropriate protection tools for each intangible asset.

Author: Inese Kalnāja​, Mg. iur., Senior Associate, Latvian and European Trademark and Design Attorney​.​