Do You Know About Intellectual Property & FinTech?

So you’ve decided to join the modern movement and enter the world of FinTech. Excellent choice, but not one that should be made blindly. Successfully running a business is not like opening a piñata, where you randomly hit the air with a stick until you hit the motherlode: You need to fully understand how the system works and what areas need the most attention to ensure full FinTech success.

Although the field is still (relatively) new and is very much an upgrade from the banking systems of yesterday, there are very important elements that carry over and you must not ignore these when adopting the system in your company.

Intellectual property. Yes, thanks to the rise of the internet and file-swapping it seems like a relic of the past, but this is still a vital concept to remember if you are aiming to conduct your business in a legal fashion.

The most important issue is systems that are developed in house. Although you might assume you automatically own the patent as the manager of the project, the status of the workers (employee vs. contract, for example) could alter who actually owns IP. To ensure you hold the rights, remember to include a clause in the work agreement stipulating who retains the rights for all work done in house.

Then, of course, you need to look at how Big Data fits into the picture. The rise of technology and the internet has changed so many things about the rights related to new projects and these new areas have to be properly analyzed to ensure your work is protected. Internal controls are vital in this regard, as the U.S. patent office sadly doesn’t have the resources to keep a vigilant eye on every project to ensure everything is above board. Make sure you have someone on your team who fully understands the roles of rights and intellectual property and knows how to ensure the work being done by your team is only being used in the right situations.

To many people, the field of rights is something they rarely (if ever) consider. However, if you are in the business of creating new systems and projects, you need to be well versed in intellectual property to ensure your work is protected and the work that others are doing is also properly referenced. When done well and properly overseen, intellectual property management can ensure you stick out as a strong, independent member of the marketplace.

 

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Welcome to the Leadervest experience. Founded after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, we are Financial Services & FinTech specialists helping startups increase sales through sales & marketing consulting and believe in Investing in Others for more Responsible Leadership in Financial Services and FinTech.‎ We specialize in mobile payments/eCommerce, wealth/portfolio management robo-advisors, online lending, digital currency exchange, blockchain, big data & analytics, crowdfunding and insurance. Connect with us at Leadervest.com.