What I Am Learned

¶ … business section of the New York Times newspaper discussed an often overlooked and intimidating legal aspect of running a small business. The topic discussed is the protection of intellectual property for small businesses. The article is titled Intellectual Property and it was authored by Darren Dahl. Dahl begins the article by pointing out that many times small business owners ignore the legal issues surrounding intellectual property because they are preoccupied and concerned with their two most valuable resources which are time and money. Dahl goes on to state that these resources may become less valuable if the small business owners do not protect their intellectual property. Dahl also states that many times small business owners avoid securing intellectual property due to an erroneous perception. The perception he is referring to is one where these owners are intimidated by the topic of intellectual property, as this topic conjures up images of expensive lawyer fees and heated legal court battles.

Dahl encourages small business owners to shed those conventions while inviting them to do everything possible to protect their intellectual property, he states that doing is not as expensive as they thing. Apparently in can be done relatively cheaply and in a small amount of time, during the rest of the article he goes on to provide examples of small business owners taking the steps to secure and protect their intellectual property, while also relating the positive results this has yielded for these business owners. Personally I couldn't agree more with Mr. Dahl's opinions regarding small business owners and intellectual property. Having a small business is a very challenging endeavor because of the stiff competition from larger competitors with more capital and also because of the current economic recession. Small business owner must take every measure possible to ensure that ideas they have created are protect because these ideas and strategies might be what saves their business. Intellectual property is something that must not be overlooked, trademarks, logos, product packaging, slogans, and product appearance can all set a certain product apart while appealing to the public. This must be protected at all costs because it makes up the identity of a product.