Assignment:
Protecting Your Intellectual Property
Construct a hypothetical product life cycle of a business you would propose to start. Analyze when you would obtain each of the following: a patent, a trademark, and a copyright based on your product idea. Support your analysis.
Create a plan for how to use the resources of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Patent Office in starting your small business. Prepare a schedule of when you would call on those resources during your start-up phase
Managing the Foundation
From the case study, a family was torn apart by its ownership in a small business. Suggest a method to initially structure a family business that would mitigate the risk of this kind of disruptive future problem. Support your response.
Evaluate the options to incentivize members of a small-business founding team. Debate the value of stock options, bonuses, and ownership compared to salary.