Digital Asset Protection: A Checklist for Small Business Owners
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Digital Assets are Often Intangible and Can Include
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Websites and blogs
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Social Media accounts
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Software systems
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Client and customer information and records
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Payroll systems
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Ordering systems
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Online banking
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Employee records
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Trade marks, patents and copyrights
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Intellectual and creative property such as trade secrets
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Photographs
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Accounting information
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Online subscriptions and memberships
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Logos, designs and branding strategies
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Virtual property such as domain names, URLs and IP addresses
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Custom apps and SaaS
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Proprietary software
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Inventions
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Product designs
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Cryptocurrency
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Document Your Digital Assets
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Create an inventory of all your personal and business digital assets.
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Create backups of all your data and systems. Experts say one backup is never enough: so created an external hard drive backup and a cloud backup.
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Claim ownership of all digital assets. Trademarks, copyrights and patents can help you document ownership; your attorney or accountant my have other recommendations.
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Establish value of all digital assets. Industry research publications or a business appraiser or
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Digitally protect your assets when possible with encoding, encryption or watermarking.
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Add copyright statements or marks to your intellectual property such as websites, blogs, graphic designs or names and tag lines.
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Implement non-disclosure and non-compete agreements with key employees, consultants, clients and vendors.
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Institute written policies for employees and consultants on creating, using, valuing and documenting digital assets.
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List digital assets in your partnership agreements, incorporation documents, succession planwill and other legal documents.
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Annually review and update your digital asset inventory and valuation.
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Protect Your Digital Assets
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Establish and document procedures if someone illegally uses or steals your digital assets.
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Determine if and how you will license, sell or lease your digital assets.
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Identify if and how you will use your digital assets as security for a loan or partnership agreement.
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Your attorney and accountant can help you identify, protect and value your digital assets, and advise a course of action if your digital assets are stolen or illegally used.