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Conventional business wisdom says you must protect your assets with insurance. But what about intangible assets such as information? They can't be burned down, but they're still vulnerable to theft or misuse. If you have patents, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property (IP), you can get IP insurance to cover the cost of protecting them.
Litigation costs for an infringement suit can range from several hundred thousand dollars to well over $1 million. "You need the means to be in court and stay there," says Robert W. Fletcher, president of Intellectual Property Insurance Services Corp. in Louisville, Kentucky. With insurance to provide litigation funds as needed, you'll prevent an unexpected cash drain and be able to demonstrate to competitors, investors, employees and the general public that you will vigorously enforce your IP rights.
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