When Acquisition Is Your Goal — How Important Is IP?
By Heather Slotnick - MLO Firm Managing Partner
10/28/2025
If you’re positioning your company for acquisition, your intellectual property (IP) can be one of your most valuable assets. Whether it’s your brand, your “secret sauce,” or your patents, strong IP protection not only helps you operate confidently today but also adds measurable value when investors or acquirers come calling in the future.
Here’s a quick checklist to help you build and protect your IP portfolio across trademarks, trade secrets, patents, and copyrights.
Your Brand (Trademarks)
A strong brand starts with strong trademarks.
Choose wisely. Fanciful and arbitrary marks, (think “Apple” for computers or “Exxon” for petroleum), offer the greatest legal protection. Suggestive marks can also work, but avoid descriptive or common industry terms—they’re harder to protect.
Focus your efforts. One strong word mark and one logo are usually better than spreading your budget across multiple trademarks. Fewer marks mean fewer searches, applications, renewals, and enforcement costs, while also building a more cohesive brand.
File where it matters. Apply for registration in countries where you currently have, or expect to have, significant sales. Trademark registration provides important enforcement and procedural advantages.
Use proper notice. Include trademark and copyright notices in the footer of your website to signal ownership and deter misuse by infringers and copycats.
Your Trade Secrets
Protecting confidential information can be simple but effective.
Control access. Keep your office secure—lock the door when unattended and require all visitors to sign in (and out). Having visitors sign Nondisclosure Agreements (NDAs) is best practice.
Shared space caution. If your startup operates in a coworking space, achieving true trade secret protection may be difficult. In that case, focus on patent protection instead.
Document high-value trade secrets. Record them in invention disclosure forms or similar documentation. Many clients send these to MLO for secure storage—this creates an external record that can be verified by investors or acquirers.
Your Patents
Patents can be a major driver of valuation—but they require strategy.
Evaluate before filing. Before sending an invention disclosure to your patent attorney, review its potential value. A small patent committee can help with this.
Prioritize strategically. Focus on inventions with the greatest business value. Ask:
Is it part of a planned product?
Would competitors want it?
Does it create a real market advantage?
Is infringement easy to detect?
Would it be better to keep it as a trade secret?
Assess patentability. Have a patent professional evaluate claim scope and likelihood of issuance. Avoid claims that competitors can easily design around. If an invention doesn’t meet your criteria, save your budget for stronger filings.
Protect before disclosure. Don’t discuss unpublished inventions outside your company. If business reasons require disclosure, ensure both a filed patent application and an NDA are in place.
Your Copyrights
Copyright protection attaches instantly upon the creation of an original work, but registration and notice make that protection stronger.
Use notice consistently. Include a copyright notice on all original works—software, websites, marketing materials, and other content. The footer of your website is a good place.
Include the full notice: © [Your Company Name], [Year]. For example: © MLO, a professional corporation, 2025. All rights reserved.
Bottom Line
Strong IP management builds trust with investors and acquirers. By protecting your brand, documenting trade secrets, prioritizing valuable patents, and using proper copyright notices, you can turn your company’s creativity and innovation into tangible business value. Reach out for a free 30-minute consultation to learn how MLO can help you build and protect a robust IP portfolio.