“Act against people who seek to steal your trademark,” was the key message delivered by attorney-at-law Ronald Young who was a guest speaker at a recent Flow Business online webinar where he addressed a number of entrepreneurs.

Young shared 10 important tips that can guard against infringers who seek to steal ideas online, but he stressed the importance of registering ideas.

“Register your trademark with JIPO [Jamaica Intellectual Property Office] because it gives you protection against persons who are trying to steal your trademark. Because many businesses will be online, you also have to think about protecting your trademark internationally,” said Young.

He also highlighted other important factors, including creating a distinct brand, applying for letters of patent, crafting protective contracts, adding IP symbols to your work, marketing effectively, and monitoring infringements as best as possible.

But his message of protecting against trademark infringement took centre stage in his address.

He noted that, as a small business owner, there are many important ways, aside from your trademark, to protect your ideas online. Some of these include registration of copyright, non-disclosure agreements (NDA), and adding watermarks.

“You don’t have to register your creation to owt but registering your copyright acts as an additional means of protection in the courts if you decide to take action against someone who may try to steal your idea at a later date,” added Young.

According to Young, small business owners are at great risk because more entrepreneurs are taking their businesses online but are not mindful of the infringers.

Young also mentioned other ways of protection and encouraged small business opereators to “insist on signing non-disclosure agreements,” since, as they grow, they tend to meet with investors with whom they will share their ideas, and it is important to have them sign an NDA to prevent them from sharing your idea without your permission”.

Watermarking, he said, is also particularly important, because in this digital age people can edit pictures without giving credit to the person who creates the idea. A watermark is difficult to edit from a photo and it acts as an additional layer of protection.

An online poll indicated that 20 per cent of the people who attended the webinar did not know the process for registering their business ideas online, while 57 per cent answered that they had not registered and 23 per cent answered “yes” to having completed registration.

Head of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises & Partner Channels for Flow Business Jamaica, Dwayne Walters, pointed to the poll results as one of the reasons the entity decided to hosts these webinars.

“We pride ourselves on offering the best support to small and medium-sized businesses. We understand the challenges that they face and so, through these webinars, we are empowering small businesses businesses to make their transition online by helping them to grow and unlock their highest potential,” said Walters.