By:Sigrid Caroline Schroder
DC Business Strategies Examiner

US sales of Microsoft Word are banned as of October. Most businesses think of IP from the light side: protecting their inventions, innovations, creations and "aha moments" from the onslaught of competition. But the dark side is the reality that their work might infringe someone else's work.

You can be shut down and your profits shorn. Don't rely on being able to invalidate a competitor's patent, distinguish your trademark or argue fair use. Don't gamble on trade secrets; trade secrets will be revealed to competitors at trial. Don't profit on purloined trade secrets. Don't rely on not getting caught: your competitors and potential competitors are also watching and the penalty is high. It's worth the few dollars on the front end to make sure that you have the IP worth selling--or going IPO. If it means licenses and royalties, then that is the reality you must face,

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