Protecting Your Genius: What Every Leader Needs to Know About Intellectual Property
- Mays and Associates Staff
- Mar 27
- 4 min read
Great ideas are the foundation of innovation—but without protection, even the best ideas can be lost, copied, or underutilized.
On episode #5 of the PinLeader Podcast, Dr. Shanda Gore sat down with patent attorney Mr. Chuck Schaub of Schaffer, Schaub & Marriott, LTD, who brings more than 50 years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies and individual inventors.
Their conversation highlighted a critical but often overlooked area of leadership: protecting your intellectual property.
Why Leaders Must Think Beyond the Idea
Leaders are often focused on execution—building teams, serving customers, and growing operations. But in the middle of that momentum, one key responsibility is frequently overlooked: safeguarding the ideas that drive the business forward.
As Schaub emphasizes, not every idea needs protection—but every idea with commercial value should at least be evaluated.
“You’re trying to protect things that have value… if nobody wants to buy it, who cares? But if demand is high, you need to protect it.”
On the flip side, “If you’ve got something that looks like it’s 5% patentable and you can’t make them fast enough, we’re going to want to try and protect that.”
The takeaway for leaders is to focus on protecting what has real market value—not just what feels innovative.
The First Step: Document and Act Early
One of the most important and most overlooked steps is simply documenting your idea and acting quickly.
“Certainly the best thing you can do is to start documenting that this is your idea and trying to fill out how it’s going to work” said Schaub.
Too often, leaders wait too long. And timing matters more than most realize.
“We’ve been making this for three years and selling it for three years… okay, it’s too late. You’ve missed the opportunity to protect it.”
In today’s environment, speed is critical.
“The first person to get to the patent office has the rights.”
Sharing Ideas? Protect Before You Promote
Many leaders want to test their ideas in the market—get feedback, build excitement, and explore viability. But that comes with risk.
Schaub says, “if you’re going to go out and talk to people about the concept… we would counsel people to file something before you go out and start disclosing it.”
Why? Because once your idea is out, control becomes harder to maintain.
Understanding the Three Types of Protection
Schaub broke down intellectual property into three distinct categories:
Patents protect ideas, processes, and technology
Trademarks identify your brand in the marketplace
Copyrights protect creative works
As he explained: “They all fit together, but they’re separate components of the intellectual property.”
The Cost Question: Investment vs. Expense
Cost is one of the biggest reasons leaders hesitate.
“You’re probably looking at spending somewhere between $5,000 and $20,000.”
But Schaub reframes this in a way every leader should consider:
“You’re always looking at… does it continue to make sense to keep spending money? And hopefully… it has value to the individual or the company.”
And in the bigger picture: “If you’ve spent millions developing this… spending $10,000 or $20,000 on a patent… is probably not the biggest consideration.”
The lesson: Protection isn’t a cost—it’s part of your growth strategy.
Beware of “Official-Looking” Scams
An eye-opening part of the conversation was the prevalence of misleading solicitations.
“Those companies have been very creative… they send it out in a way that it looks very official.”
These communications often mimic government agencies and create unnecessary urgency.
“It really does look official.”
Not every opportunity—or request—is legitimate. Verify before you act.
When Things Go Wrong: The Reality of Litigation
Even with protection, disputes can arise—and litigation is rarely ideal.
“Going to court is an expensive proposition.”
And outcomes are never guaranteed: “Do you really want a judge or a jury to make a decision that’s important to you?”
That’s why most cases never reach trial.
“Somewhere in excess of 90% of it gets settled.”
The Leadership Mindset Behind Innovation
Beyond legal strategy, Schaub’s insights point to something deeper: the mindset required to bring ideas to life.
1. Be Willing to Do the Work
“You have to be one of the people that’s willing to pick up the laboring oar and do the work.”
Execution—not ideas—is what drives success.
2. Stay Flexible as You Grow
As your idea evolves, so must your leadership.
“They may be extremely good at being an inventor… but then it moves to the next level.”
Growth requires new capabilities—and often new people.
“If I can’t… am I flexible enough that I can bring in other people to help me do that?”
3. Be Strategic About Control
Bringing in help is necessary—but giving away too much too early can create long-term challenges.
“Don’t be very careful how much control you give up when you’re developing this.”
Strong leaders balance collaboration with ownership.
Final Thought: Protecting Your Genius Is Leadership
Protecting your ideas isn’t just a legal process—it’s a leadership responsibility.
It requires:
Awareness
Timing
Investment
Discernment
Flexibility
Because at the end of the day, your idea has no power if it isn’t protected and no future if it isn’t developed.
Presented by ROAR Productions. The PinLeader™ Podcast is an interview format show that provides effective tips to those that are currently leaders or have a desire to become leaders. A new episode is released every Wednesday.
