Like any business, esports businesses must protect their various forms of intellectual property (“IP”). IP can be valuable. Indeed, with some esports businesses, the largest component of their business valuation is their IP, including trademarks, copyrights, patent rights, domain name registrations, and trade secrets. IP can also include various assignments, licenses, and other permission-granting contractual agreements. For example, if your esports business has a licensing agreement for the use of a sports celebrity’s likeness, that can be very valuable for purposes of financing, attracting investors, and mergers and acquisitions. To help manage, protect, and expand your esports IP, you need the legal assistance and experience of esports intellectual property lawyers like the ones at Revision Legal.
Protecting Trademarks, Brands, and Copyrights Through Registration
Trademarks and brands are probably the most important IP that an esports business creates. A trademark is any name, phrase, logo, design, or mark that identifies your business as the commercial source of products and/or services. Registration of your trademarks is crucial to maximizing the legal protection provided for those trademarks and brands. Your business can protect those from infringement by others. Further, potential investors, financiers, and buyers for your business will expect that you will have protected your trademarks through registration. Excellent esports IP lawyers can help with the registration process at the federal level and the state level and can help extend your trademark protections internationally.
The same is true for any copyrightable original works of authorship that have been created by your business. Indeed, under the federal Copyright Act, you cannot sue for copyright infringement in federal court until your copyrights have been registered. Again, excellent IP lawyers can help with this process. Revision Legal also has the skills, staffing, and resources to prosecute and defend IP litigation.
Protecting Trade Secrets
Trade secrets are also an important IP that is valuable to your business. Trade secrets are any sort of information, data, method, etc., that helps your business remain competitive by virtue of the fact that the information is secret. To be legally protected, an esports business must take legally required steps to protect the secrecy of the information. This includes reasonable steps under the circumstances to maintain the secrecy of the information. Steps include requiring vendors, suppliers, employees, investors, etc., to sign solid and enforceable non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements. Other steps are generally required too. Again, excellent IP lawyers can help protect your trade secrets.
Obtaining and Protecting Domain Names
Domain names are another essential IP for esports businesses that must be protected. While trademark law provides some protection from cybercrimes like domain name theft, cybersquatting, and typosquatting, there are more specific methods of protection provided through rules and procedures established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) which is the nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating maintenance and procedures for domain name registration and ownership. Skilled esports IP lawyers can help protect your domain names and can provide assistance with various forms of cybersecurity.
Contact the Esports Intellectual Property Attorneys at Revision Legal
For more information, contact the experienced Esports Intellectual Property Lawyers at Revision Legal. You can contact us through the form on this page or call (855) 473-8474.