1. Medical Cost Inflation - Medical cost inflation still leads the list of top perceived risks despite a nearly 10 percentage point drop in general concern from 67% in 2014 to 60% in 2015.

2. Cyber Risks - Making the greatest leap from fifth in 2014 to second this year, concern over cyber risk has grown considerably, particularly among large businesses. In fact, 9 out of all 10 industries surveyed report cyber risks and data breaches among their top 5 concerns.

3. Increasing Employee Benefit Costs - Closely related to concerns over medical cost inflation, worry over increasing employee benefit costs, has also fallen, from 62% to 56% since last year.

4. Legal Liability - Although general concern over legal liability has decreased only 2% since last year, its ranking has dropped to fourth from third in 2014.

5. Attracting & Retaining Talent - U.S. businesses are increasingly worried about the challenge of finding and retaining skilled labor, with a 3% increase since last year resulting in a jump from last to fifth on the list of top risk concerns.

6. Regulatory Compliance - Nearly unchanged since last year, among the 51% of all businesses concerned about complying with laws and regulations, 29% worry a great deal.

7. Broad Economic Uncertainty - U.S. business owners showed a slight reprieve from worry over the economy, with concern about broad economic uncertainty down in level (by 6%) and ranking (by 4 places) since 2014.

Many U.S. Businesses Still Feel Unprepared for Top Risks

While the ranking of top concerns may have slightly shifted, the gaps between how much U.S. businesses worry verses how prepared they feel to manage these risks remains large. In fact, the top risk concerns are often among the 3 to 5 risks businesses feel the least prepared to handle. Furthermore, only 50% of companies report having a written business continuity plan.

When businesses consider Intellectual Property management, they often think about protecting their own assets, in the form of copyrighted material, trademarks, patents and trade secrets. But businesses also need to ensure that they are managing the IP rights of others, according to Kirstin Simonson, a Segment Lead in Global Technology at Travelers. “This is especially true in the technology sector, which faces some of the most complex IP issues,” says Simonson.

One common violation of intellectual property is software copyright infringement. A common scenario may include a company that purchases software licensing rights for 400 employees, and then fails to update the licensing for an additional 100 employees later added to staff. According to a BSA Global Software Survey, they found that 43% of the software installed on personal computers in 2013 was not licensed.¹

Why Businesses Need an IP Risk Management Program

The survey also reported that only 35% of companies have written policies requiring the use of properly licensed software. It also found that there is an awareness gap about software policies between workers and IT managers. Appropriately ensuring the rights of others is an important part of risk management for your organization because IP, in all of its forms, is a critical business asset.

Companies need an IP Risk Management plan because:

• They may face legal action for copyright infringement and other IP violations.
• They may have to perform an intensive software audit to prove they have resolved the problem.
• Use of unlicensed software may put the business at risk for data breaches, data loss or other forms of information security and network security threats.
• Laws protecting IP can vary greatly around the world, so it is important to understand which ones apply to your business.

What to Include in an IP Risk Management Program

“Like all risk management, a good IP Risk Management Program needs to be proactive and comprehensive from an enterprise perspective,” says Simonson. “Consider IP rights management as a tool for growth, and not something to consider once the product is out to market.”

An IP rights management program should include:

• The ability to track licensing relationships and royalty obligations.
  • Companies should consider some form of automated tracking to ensure they are not only managing their own IP rights that are licensed to others, but they are living up to the licensing agreements they have in place with third parties.
• Formal clearance procedure and registration strategy.
  • Engaging legal counsel to perform an IP search may be appropriate in many instances or at the very least, determining whether there are automated tools that can assist in the process.
  • Having a well-defined strategy for determining whether title is clear to the IP, whether it should be registered and how to maintain the registration.
• Contracting and licensing agreements should include appropriate provisions.
  • Whether it is a work-for-hire arrangement where the IP rights would be assigned to the business or a licensing agreement to use the IP, it is critically important these be spelled out and managed.
• Response plan or dispute resolution plan in the event someone challenges your IP rights.
  • Just like any peril or loss a business may face, whether it is hurricane, liability allegations arising out of the failure of the product, or a cyber event – a strong response plan when an event happens will save hours and dollars.
• Education of all employees of what constitutes IP and how their misuse or mishandling can put the company at risk.
  • Train everyone in the company so they understand how they might put the business at risk.

Many companies do not know exactly what intellectual property (IP) they may own, while others are uncertain how to protect and maximize these valuable assets. When someone infringes on your IP, it may dilute the ability of consumers to associate your company as the source of your goods and services.

To protect your company, it is important to first understand what is typically included as intellectual property. Generally, it involves a creation of the human mind, such as an invention, literary work or musical composition. The different areas of IP law include trademark (such as service mark, trade dress and trade name), as well as copyright, patent and trade secret.

Why it is Important to Register Your IP

While some intellectual property, such as a trademark or copyright, can be valid and protectable even if it is unregistered, registration offers important and key benefits. Registering a trademark or service mark with the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) serves as constructive notice to the public of your claim of ownership of the mark.

An owner who has successfully registered his mark with the USPTO also receives the following:

• An incontestable right to use the mark under certain conditions.
• A rebuttable presumption of the validity of the mark, the registrant’s ownership of the mark, and exclusive right to use the mark in commerce.
• The ability to seek costs, attorney’s fees, and treble damages (or three times the actual amount of financial losses) in infringement lawsuits.
• The destruction of the infringing articles.
• The ability to litigate in federal court.

How to Register Your Trademark and Service Mark

You can file an electronic application to register your company’s intellectual property. The Lanham Act governs federal trademark registration and allows trademark and service mark owners to pay a fee (typically $325) and file an application and verified statement to the USPTO.

Applicants must state when they first used the mark in commerce and include a description of the goods that the mark is connected to, along with a drawing of the mark. In the verified statement, applicants must also state that they believe they are the owner of the mark, that the mark is used in commerce and that no other person has the right to use the mark.

How to Register Your Copyright

Copyright owners who register their work with the United States Copyright Office also receive significant benefit in any subsequent judicial proceeding. A certificate of copyright registration constitutes prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate. Copyright owners who register their works can also potentially receive statutory damages from an infringer.

Copyright owners can apply online to the United States Copyright Office to register a copyright. The application requires a $35 filing fee and the applicant to provide: name and address, title of the work, the year in which it was created and other preparation and identification information. [According to the USCO website, processing time for an e-filing is generally eight months.¹]

How to Register Your Patent

Patent applications are more complicated than trademark or copyright applications and are often filed by registered patent attorneys experienced in the patent drafting and filing process. A patent applicant must pay a fee (these fees range in amount) and produce an oath, a drawing of the invention and a “specification.” Applicants must state in the oath their country of citizenship and that they believe they are the first inventor of the process, machine, manufacture or improvement.

The specification must contain a written description of the invention and the manner and process of making and using it in a full and clear manner. The specification also must contain one or more “claims” that point out the specific subject matter that the applicants regard as their invention.

Using Written Agreements to Your Advantage

Using, adhering to and enforcing various written agreements can help your company protect and profit from its Intellectual Property (IP). No agreement can accomplish everything but here are some to consider for advancing your IP portfolio.

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA): An NDA, or confidentiality agreement, can help keep proprietary or trade secret information private. Among other details, it should plainly state who owns the IP rights associated with the product or service, and who has the right to enforce those IP rights.

Non-Competition Agreements: A non-competition agreement can help lessen the risk that a vital employee will take critical information, such as processes, customer lists or formulas, to a competitor or a start-up company.

Employment Contracts: When an author, artist or designer is an independent contractor or creates work outside the scope of his or her employment, a carefully drafted contract can eliminate potential conflicts by clearly, and broadly, defining the person’s scope of employment and assigning all IP rights generated from his or her work to the employer or hirer.

Licensing Agreements: In a license, one entity grants another permission to use IP rights(s) within a defined time, market or territory. Typically complex, these agreements may contain provisions related to exclusivity, transferability, revocability and warranties.