Bangalore: If you are a startup company, not having your intellectual property protected can be a real risky step in your business. Of course, companies like Twitter and Face book do manage, and manage to be successful without it, but no, it is highly recommend that any startup company take the risk.

So lets get to the next big question. How effectively can a startup company protect its Intellectual Property? The following is a list of ways provided by Jeffrey Shieh (readwriteweb.com)that can be useful to a startup company seeking Intellectual Property Protection.

Begin your startup with a domestic patent: As a startup applying for a US Patent, will have very little time available to apply for an international patent protection. And missing the International Patent Protection will leave the intellectual property of the startup at risk and at the hands of the other infringers in the market. Always remember that an international Patent Protection is very important for a company’s competitive strategies.

However, foreign patents are expensive and not something easily afforded by any startup company. Also the resources to hire a full time international law firm with its complex costs are not something that an early startup company can afford. So beginning by applying for a domestic patent will be the best decision since it provides a startup company an exclusive right for a set period of time along with time to take a look at the financials of different countries ponders over formulating an international patent filing plan and come up with a budget and strategy.