There are many important questions to consider when starting a business, particularly one based on intellectual property.  The following checklist should help you navigate through the process.

 General Corporate Matters

• Have you established a corporation, limited liability company (LLC) or other entity to shield you personally from liability?
• Assuming you have established a limited liability company, have you prepared an operating agreement?
• Do you have non-disclosure agreements with suppliers?
• Do you have employment contracts with employees?
• Do you have assignment agreements with employees and independent contractors to assign to you intellectual property created on your behalf?
• Do you have non-disclosure agreements with employees to protect your confidential, proprietary and trade secret information?
• Do you have liability insurance?
• Do you have a non-compete agreement with key employees?
• Will you own intellectual property, such as patents, trademarks and copyrights, in your corporate form or personally?
• Have you secured a domain name for your business?

Patents

• Do you have a product or service that you have introduced or intend soon to introduce?
• Has a patentability search been conducted on any invention?
• Has a patentability opinion been received on any invention?
• Has an infringement investigation been conducted regarding any product that you have introduced or intend to introduce?
• Have you filed a provisional patent application on any invention?
• Has a non-provisional patent application been filed on any invention?
• Have you considered whether accelerated patent examination is appropriate for any product that is disclosed in a non-provisional patent application?
• Have you considered whether accelerated patent rights protection is appropriate for any product that is disclosed in a non-provisional patent application?
• Have you preserved your rights to file foreign patent applications?
• Have you filed any foreign patent application or application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty?
• Have you received an assignment from any inventor of all patent applications?
• Have you recorded any assignment?
• Do you require employees and contractors to assign inventions?
• Have you implemented an invention submission process?
• Have you considered an inventor award program?
• Do your advertising and promotional materials indicate that products are patented or patent pending?
• Do you have a mechanism in place to consider whether any patent is being infringed?
• Have you considered monetizing any unused patents?

 Trademarks and Service Marks

• Have you had a registrability search conducted for any trademark or service mark that you use or intend to use?
• Has a right to use search been conducted for any trademark or service mark that you use or intend to use?
• Have you obtained an opinion that you can register and use any trademark or service mark?
• Have you filed an application to register any trademark or service mark?
• Do your advertising and promotional materials use the notices ® and/or ™?
• Have you considered the need to file for foreign protection?
• Have you implemented a watch system for competitor trademarks?
• Do you use your trademarks and service marks as source identifiers?
• Have you implemented guidelines regarding how your trademarks and service marks are used?
• Have you licensed any trademark or service mark?
• Are license agreements in writing?
• Does any license agreement have a quality control provision?

 Copyrights

• Have you created any work that is protected by copyright?
• Have you applied to register any copyrighted work?
• Do you have agreements that require authors to assign all copyrights to you?
• Do you own the copyrights to works that you use in advertising and promoting your business, goods and services?
• Do you use the copyright notice ©?
• Do you update your registered copyrights?
• Do you have written license agreements for the licensing of your copyrighted works?
• Have you licensed any copyrighted works?
• What rights does the licensee acquire under any license?
• Do you have a web site?
• Do you own the copyright in the source code for your web site?
• Do you have a copy of the source code for your web site?
• Does your web site have adequate terms and conditions controlling its use?
• Do you have a privacy policy for information collected at or through your web site?

 Trade Secrets

• Do you have or create proprietary or confidential information?
• Do you have a written policy protecting proprietary and confidential information?
• Have you implemented controls to protect your proprietary and confidential information?
• Do you have non-disclosure agreements with employees and contractors?
• Do you have non-compete agreements with employees and contractors?
• Do you have agreements requiring employees and contractors to inform you of proprietary and confidential information?
• Do you have agreements that prohibit employees and contractors from disclosing and using proprietary and confidential information of others?
• Do you inform departing employees of their obligation to maintain confidential your proprietary and confidential information?