How to Prove Intellectual Property Theft

Intellectual property can include a wide variety of trademarked names, copyrighted material and patented inventions. While there are specific steps that may be taken to prove specific types of intellectual property theft, there are also general steps that may be taken.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Contact an attorney specializing in intellectual property law if you find that yours has been stolen or infringed upon. While you can respond to such a theft on your own, intellectual property law has enough complexities that a lawyer's help can be crucial.

2. Register your claim to your intellectual property. Even if you do so after a theft, registration can be an important part of your case and may be required if you plan to sue an infringer.

3. Send a letter to the person infringing on your intellectual property, asking him to cease and desist. You may also send such a letter to that person's Internet service provider, if the person in question has posted your material online. An Internet service provider may ask you to prove your claim.

4. Document your creation of your intellectual property. The ideal documentation is registration, such as a copyright, trademark or patent. However, other items may help prove your claim, such as early versions.

5. Consider suing the person or group responsible for the theft of your intellectual property, either to force them to stop the infringement or for damages. The first is relatively easy, but for the second you will need to be able to demonstrate that their infringement literally cost you money.

Tips & Warnings

• The value of intellectual property is typically determined by the income it is expected to generate for its owner. Low-valued intellectual property may not be worth the cost of proving infringement.
• Many owners of intellectual property grant specific licenses to allow others certain uses of their property. Technically, if an individual uses a copy of a piece of such property in a way not allowed by a license, he or she may be considered to have stolen intellectual property.
• Attorneys dealing primarily with intellectual property typically have a special certification or an additional, post-graduate degree known as a Master of Laws.
• There are ways that other people can use your intellectual property legally, typically described as "fair use." Reviewers, for instance, can quote a limited amount of your writing.
• Intellectual property is stolen with almost unbelievable regularity. While theft can be demonstrated, it is very difficult to prevent. It is also very difficult to enforce many of the laws covering intellectual property, in part because of the sheer amount of intellectual property available.