When you start a business or a company, you work hard to develop ideas, invent new products, create strategies and secrets that help you move to the top and beat your competitors. After all this hard work, seeing another company thrive using your reputation can be disheartening. However, there is a remedy to this. 

The theft of intellectual property is a serious crime, and you have legal options. If you see someone using your unique ideas, inventions, trademarks, or any other intellectual property, you can file a lawsuit against them with the help of a Las Vegas Business Litigation Attorney. 

Types of intellectual property

There are four basic types of intellectual property: 

1. Trademarks: This includes logos, words, symbols, phrases, or colors that distinguish your company from others. 
2. Trade secrets: This includes information related to your company which gives you an advantage in the market against your competitors. 
3. Copyrights: This means having legal ownership of pictures, music, arts, writing, etc., that no one can use without your permission. 
4. Patent: This refers to having exclusive rights to a technical invention.

What are your rights?

In order to file a claim of theft, it is important to understand what your rights are. Your company’s unique trademark is not to be used by any other company or business in the world. If you find someone using it without informing you or taking your permission, you can certainly file a claim. 

Trade secrets are valuable information regarding your company that makes it stand out in the crowd. When you suspect someone is using the information to grow their business, you can hire an attorney to look into the case. Similarly, any content that you create, be it a piece of writing or a song or a painting, nobody else is allowed to use it until you allow it. 

How to prove theft of intellectual property?

As soon as you realize or suspect that someone else has stolen your intellectual property, it is important to hire a Las Vegas Business Litigation Attorney to enforce your rights and recover compensation. Depending on the type of intellectual property that has been stolen, there is a variety of evidence that you can present. 

• Your patent product or idea was stolen. Here, it is crucial to bring documents that prove that you were the first one to do the invention and not the other party. 
• Your copyright content was stolen and used by someone else. Here, you should demonstrate that your pictures, painting, music, etc., were stolen and used without your knowledge and permission.
• Another company is using a similar or the same logo that your company first came up with. 

Proving intellectual property theft can be complex and tough, but it is nothing an attorney cannot handle. Contact one today.