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Cory Schug’s Smart Fabrics Summit Presentation Quoted in Specialty Fabrics Review
Aug 29 2023
Specialty Fabrics Review magazine covered the Advanced Textiles Association’s recent Smart Fabrics Summit, which included a discussion of “IP Best Practices When Going to Market” by WBD Intellectual Property Partner Cory Schug.
He was joined in the presentation by Dhruv Agarwal, Vice President of Sustainability, Innovation, and development at Kontoor Brands.
Schug discussed the value of collaboration in innovation, as well as potential IP challenges when two or more parties work together.
“If you don’t collaborate, it can be hard to move your idea forward. But with collaboration you need to be careful, so at least the intellectual property remains with you,” he said, adding. “Essentially, you’ve got one year in the U.S. once your idea is made public. It’s even less outside the U.S.”
“If you don’t collaborate, it can be hard to move your idea forward. But with collaboration you need to be careful, so at least the intellectual property remains with you. Essentially, you’ve got one year in the U.S. once your idea is made public. It’s even less outside the U.S.”
Cory Schug, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
He offered the following four tips to reduce the risks of IP problems in collaborative projects:
- Negotiate a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) that will keep ideas confidential and avoid public disclosure.
- Sign a consulting agreement, which assigns IP rights.
- Conduct a freedom-to-operate patent search to be sure you own your intellectual property.
- Analyze available and preferred forms of IP protection (ex. patent versus trade secret).
Click here to read the full article in Specialty Fabrics Review.
