Once you have marketed your product locally, within your region or country, you may begin to consider expanding to new international markets. You might even decide to go global, even without going local. An important rule to remember is that IP rights are territorial, which means that rights obtained in a country or region are only valid in that country or region. If you intend to export, it is important to consider obtaining IP rights in the country or region of interest. If you don’t have your innovations and creations protected in these “outside” markets, they will be vulnerable to imitators.

Go back to the patent, trademark and design databases and make sure no one has obtained rights in the target markets that would prevent you from entering that market. The databases are also a good source for identifying potential partners and collaborators, determining emerging trends and to spot opportunities.