Intellectual property: building a solid foundation from the outset
Published September 23, 2025
Innovation isn't just about creating a new technology or launching a new product. Its real strength also lies in the ability to protect what has been developed. Yet many startups focus their efforts on developing their solution, without realizing that their intellectual property is its foundation. Without a clear strategy, a brand can be challenged, an idea copied, or worse still, an entire market rendered inaccessible.
In fact, this is what we talk about in our various training courses, available online free of charge.
Before filing a patent or trademark application
For an entrepreneur, intellectual property is much more than a formality: it's a growth strategy. Even before registering a patent or trademark, certain preliminary analyses enable you to move forward with confidence, attract investors and establish yourself in your market.
The first step is often to take a step back with landscape research, which provides an overall picture of the innovation terrain.
Questions that are often answered by this field research:
Who are the players present? What are the emerging trends? In which regions of the world are deposits concentrated?
This exercise not only enables us to gain a better understanding of our environment, but also to identify areas still open to innovation.
How can we plan for growth, both here and abroad?
The question of the company's identity soon arose.
Before investing in the creation of a brand, it's essential to ensure that the chosen name is indeed available, not only in your local market, but also in other target markets. A thorough trademark availability search avoids building an entire image on a sign that could later be challenged. It's a simple, yet strategic step to protect a start-up 's credibility and enable it to evolve without unpleasant surprises.
When it comes to going to market, another check is essential. Freedom to Operate (FTO) (Freedom to Operate - FTO) confirms that a product or service can be brought to market without risk of counterfeiting. For a start-up preparing to raise funds or sign its first contracts, this is an essential guarantee of security and a strong argument in the eyes of investors.
What to do before applying for a patent or trademark
Even before incurring the costs of filing, it's a good idea to ask whether the invention is really protectable. This is where a patentability search comes in, to assess the novelty and inventive character of a solution. This exercise avoids investing unnecessarily in procedures that are doomed to failure, and enables resources to be concentrated on what is most valuable.
Finally, some companies already have information or patents identified in their sector, but struggle to draw the right conclusions from them. In such cases, an expert analysis of prior art provides a strategic reading of these documents, and helps to better position innovation in a competitive environment.
Actions for a solid foundation
As you can see, all these steps, often invisible but absolutely crucial, form the foundations of a solid IP strategy. They reduce risk, guide innovation and reinforce a start-up's credibility with its partners.
If this sounds like something you'd like to see happen to your startup, our momentumPI service can help you finance these first strategic activities.
And the good news is that there's still time to apply!