You've developed an innovative product. You've invested time and money building your business. Customers are beginning to recognize your brand, and competitors are starting to notice.

Then come the questions:

Should I get a patent? Do I need to register my trademark? What about my software, designs, or confidential business information? And how much should I spend on all of this?

These are important legal questions. But they are also business questions.

After working in intellectual property as a USPTO patent examiner, in-house counsel, and private-practice attorney, I've come to appreciate one fundamental principle:

Intellectual property should serve your business strategy—not the other way around.

That's why I developed P.L.A.Y. Your IP, a four-part framework to help founders and business owners make more strategic decisions about their intellectual property.

• P — Protect: What gives your business a competitive advantage?

• L — Leverage: How can your IP strengthen your business position?

• A — Align: Does your IP investment support your business goals and growth plans?

• Y — Yield: What meaningful business results should your IP produce?

Let's explore how these four concepts work together, using lessons from some of the world's most recognizable businesses.

P — PROTECT: Know What Makes Your Business Valuable

Before asking whether you need a patent, ask a more fundamental question:

If a competitor copied one thing from your business tomorrow, what would hurt you most?

Perhaps it's your core technology. Perhaps it's your brand. Or maybe it's a manufacturing process that allows you to produce a better product at a lower cost.

Different competitive advantages require different forms of protection.

Apple versus Samsung: Protecting innovation and design

The patent battles between Apple and Samsung demonstrated how important intellectual property can be in highly competitive technology markets.

Their disputes involved not only technical innovations but also aspects of smartphone appearance protected by design patents. One dispute reached the U.S. Supreme Court over how damages should be calculated for infringement of design patents covering components of a product.[1]

For entrepreneurs, the lesson isn't to prepare for a billion-dollar lawsuit.

It's that even a relatively small feature or distinctive design may play an important role in a product's competitive appeal.

Coca-Cola: Sometimes the best protection is keeping a secret

Coca-Cola took a different approach with its famous formula.

Rather than publicly disclosing the formula through a patent, the company has maintained it as a closely guarded trade secret.[2]

KFC has similarly built part of its brand identity around the secrecy of its Original Recipe and blend of 11 herbs and spices.[3]

Trade-secret protection can potentially last indefinitely, but only while the information continues to qualify for protection, including through appropriate efforts to maintain confidentiality.

For some innovations, patents may be the better choice. For others, trade secrets may be more suitable.

And many businesses need a combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and contracts.

The takeaway: Don't start by asking what you can file. Start by identifying what makes your business different—and what needs to remain yours.

L — LEVERAGE: Turn IP Protection into Business Opportunity

Protecting intellectual property is only the beginning.

The next question is:

How can your IP help your business grow?

A patent may support a licensing arrangement. A trademark may strengthen customer recognition. Copyright may support commercial licensing of software or creative content.

Qualcomm: Making technology recognizable to customers

Qualcomm's Snapdragon branding offers a useful example.

Although Qualcomm supplies technology used in products manufactured by other companies, it has invested in making Snapdragon recognizable to consumers.

In 2021, Qualcomm announced a refreshed Snapdragon brand identity and simplified naming strategy to help consumers identify devices powered by its technology.[4]

The objective extends beyond owning a trademark.

It is about helping customers recognize the value of technology they might otherwise never see.

For startups that sell components, software, or technology through other businesses, this raises an interesting opportunity:

Can your IP help make your company's contribution visible and valuable to the end customer?

Starbucks: When a brand becomes bigger than its name

Starbucks offers another illustration.

Over the decades, the company refined its logo until the familiar siren became recognizable without the word “Starbucks.”

Its 2011 redesign removed the company name from the logo, reflecting the recognition the symbol had developed.[5]

A trademark is a legal tool for identifying and protecting a brand. But the commercial value of that brand develops through customer experiences, recognition, and trust.

For a growing business, intellectual property can help preserve and support that value.

The takeaway: Don't think of your patent, trademark, or copyright merely as a registration certificate. Think about how it can support differentiation, licensing, partnerships, and customer relationships.

A — ALIGN: Match Your IP Investment to Your Business Roadmap

Most startups don't have unlimited budgets.

Every dollar spent on intellectual property is a dollar that cannot be spent elsewhere—on product development, marketing, hiring, or customer acquisition.

That makes prioritization essential.

The right IP strategy depends on where your business is today and where you want it to go.

Imagine a startup developing a new medical device

Its engineering team has developed several innovations:

• A novel sensor arrangement.

• A specialized attachment mechanism.

• Software that processes sensor data.

• A confidential manufacturing method.

All four may be important, but they may not require the same protection strategy.

Perhaps the attachment mechanism provides the strongest product differentiation and deserves early patent consideration.

Perhaps the manufacturing method is difficult to reverse-engineer and may be better maintained as a trade secret.

Perhaps the software involves patentable technical innovations, copyrightable source code, and confidential know-how—each requiring a different analysis.

Meanwhile, the company may need to clear and protect its brand before launching the product.

The answer isn't necessarily to file applications for everything.

It's to prioritize the protection that best supports the company's commercial objectives, while recognizing legal deadlines that cannot safely be postponed.

Think beyond the initial filing

A common mistake is budgeting only for the first patent application.

Patent examination, responses to USPTO office actions, international filings, maintenance fees, and potential enforcement can all require additional resources.

Likewise, trademark protection may need to expand as the company introduces new products or enters new markets.

Founders should therefore ask:

What is our next major milestone—launching a product, securing investment, entering a market, signing a licensing agreement, or preparing for acquisition?

Then consider which IP investments are most important to reaching that milestone.

The takeaway: Your IP portfolio should support your business roadmap—not become a separate project disconnected from your company's growth.

Y — YIELD: Measure What Your IP Actually Produces

Suppose your startup owns five patents, three trademarks, and several copyright registrations.

Is that a successful IP strategy?

Maybe. But the number of registrations doesn't tell the whole story.

The more meaningful question is:

What has your intellectual property helped your business accomplish?

Has it supported licensing discussions? Helped distinguish your product? Strengthened brand recognition? Reduced important business risks? Made the company more attractive to potential partners or buyers?

Preparing for investment or an exit

Imagine two startups developing similar technologies.

One has an impressive list of patent applications, but its ownership records are incomplete, its contractor agreements are unclear, and its patents have little connection to its current products.

The other has a smaller, carefully managed portfolio covering its most commercially important technology, with clear ownership and organized records.

Which would be more attractive to a potential buyer?

The answer depends on many factors, but the second company may offer a clearer picture of what the buyer is acquiring.

An investor or acquirer may evaluate whether a company owns its core technology, has enforceable rights in its important brands, and can use or transfer its IP without unexpected contractual restrictions.

This is why IP strategy should include not only obtaining rights, but also maintaining clear ownership and documentation.

What about software and copyright?

Software businesses provide another important example.

The dispute between Oracle and Google over Java reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which concluded that Google's particular copying of Java API material constituted fair use, assuming copyrightability without deciding that issue.[6]

The case illustrates both the commercial importance and the legal limits of software copyright.

For founders, the lesson is to understand what their rights actually cover.

Copyright generally protects original expression, such as qualifying source code, rather than the underlying ideas or methods of operation. Registration may provide important enforcement advantages for eligible works.

But commercial value ultimately depends on how the software, technology, brand, and related rights support the business.

Measuring the return

Not every IP investment generates immediate licensing revenue.

Some provide value by preserving a competitive advantage, helping avoid brand disputes, supporting customer trust, or improving due-diligence readiness.

Useful measures might include:

• Licensing or partnership opportunities supported by the IP.

• Protection of products or features important to revenue.

• Customer recognition of protected brands.

• Clarity of IP ownership and readiness for investment or acquisition.

• Whether the expected business benefits justify the costs of obtaining and maintaining protection.

The takeaway: A successful IP portfolio isn't necessarily the largest. It's one that produces meaningful value for the business.

Bringing It All Together: How to P.L.A.Y. Your IP

The four elements are not separate legal exercises. They form a connected business decision process.

PROTECT — Identify your advantage.
What technology, brand, content, design, or confidential know-how makes your business different?

LEVERAGE — Put that advantage to work.
How can your IP strengthen your market position, customer relationships, licensing opportunities, or partnerships?

ALIGN — Invest with purpose.
Does the protection support your next business milestone, product roadmap, and available resources?

YIELD — Evaluate the results.
What business outcome are you trying to achieve, and how will you know whether the investment was worthwhile?

Consider revisiting these questions as your company grows. The protection that matters at launch may differ from what you need when expanding internationally, raising capital, or preparing for an exit.

Five Practical Steps You Can Take Today

1. Identify your three most important competitive advantages. Focus on what customers value and competitors may want to copy.

2. Review how those advantages are protected. Consider patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and contractual protections.

3. Identify your next business milestone. Determine which IP decisions are important before that event.

4. Confirm ownership and confidentiality. Review relevant agreements with founders, employees, contractors, and partners.

5. Define one meaningful outcome. Decide what business benefit you expect from your next IP investment.

Intellectual property can help businesses innovate, differentiate, compete, and grow.

But filing an application or receiving a registration is not the ultimate goal.

The goal isn't to own the most IP. It's to own the right IP—and know how to use it.

That's how you P.L.A.Y. Your IP.

About the Author

Jeoyuh Lin is the founder of Lin IP, LLC, an intellectual property law firm helping entrepreneurs, startups, and businesses protect and strategically manage their innovations and brands.

A former USPTO patent examiner and former in-house IP counsel, Jeoyuh brings experience from government, corporate, and private practice to helping businesses make practical IP decisions.

Learn more: www.liniplaw.com

Interested in applying the P.L.A.Y. framework to your business? Contact Lin IP to discuss your IP priorities and business objectives.

Sources and Further Reading

[1] Samsung Electronics Co. v. Apple Inc., 580 U.S. 53 (2016), U.S. Supreme Court decision.

[2] The Coca-Cola Company, Where Is the Secret Formula of Coca-Cola Kept?.

[3] KFC Global, In the Kitchen with Food Innovation and Technology.

[4] Qualcomm, Welcome to the New Era of Snapdragon.

[5] Starbucks, The Evolution of Our Logo.

[6] Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., 593 U.S. 1 (2021), U.S. Supreme Court decision.

This article is intended for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. IP rights, filing deadlines, and protection strategies depend on the specific facts and applicable law.