Key Idea #3: Throw the book at the thieves.

Thankfully, the team at Mitchell, Silberberg and Knupp (along with other law firms) won the Napster and Grokster cases. The Supreme Court made it clear that intellectual property is protected in the digital world as it is in the physical world.

Topic for discussion: Is there a way to bring copyright infringement cases and not bust your budget?

Answer: Yes. Here at Small Business School, we were able to convince an attorney to take an intellectual property case on contingency. The first lawyer we went to said no to us but through a relative we found great representation. This attorney is also a judge. He took the case on top of his full-time job which may have been the key. If you only go to lawyers who are starving, they can't afford to work for you while betting on the come. To win him over, we presented the facts in detail and provided hard evidence that our intellectual property had been stolen.

He made an offer to the offending party and they paid us rather than be taken to court. We gave our attorney one third of the funds he collected for us so it was a win-win. The financial part was satisfying but the legal settlement and the admission on the part of the guilty party was also sweet.

As Mark Litvack said, litigation is expensive and we probably only have time to go after the bad guys who are using our property to make money. The rest of the thieves need to be taught right from wrong. The attorney you use on a regular basis can send a tough letter to anyone you find stealing your intellectual property. This action can and will stop the person who is stealing casually.

If you have required all employees to sign an agreement that they understand your company has intellectual property and they will not steal from you during or after their employment with you, you will have solid grounds to sue if they do. Bob Tarcea told us that a former employee stole from him and went straight to his competitor with his intellectual property. Bob even thinks she may have been working for both companies at the same time. Sadly, we all have to stop being so trusting and so naive.

You think about it: Who could you get to represent you if you needed to sue or threaten to sue?