Welcome to The Nest — the official blog of Canary and Hedge. This is your place to learn how to get the legal stuff right, protect what you’re building, and grow a brand that lasts. We’re kicking things off with a foundational post every entrepreneur, creator, and brand builder should read: understanding intellectual property (IP).

What Is Intellectual Property?

In the simplest terms, intellectual property is everything you create that gives your business value and distinction. It’s not your storefront, your LLC papers, or your bank account—it’s your ideas, your branding, your content, and your creations. It’s what makes your business yours.

There are four main types of IP that matter for most entrepreneurs:

• Trademarks protect your brand name, logo, slogan, and other identifiers that help customers recognize you.
• Copyrights protect your original content—from website copy to podcasts to digital products.
• Patents protect new inventions, processes, or formulas (not relevant to everyone, but huge if you’re innovating).
• Trade secrets protect confidential business information like your secret recipe, strategy, or customer list.

Why Should You Care?

Because IP is often the most valuable part of your business. If you don’t protect it, you’re handing the keys to your brand over to copycats, competitors, and scammers.

Here’s what happens when you don’t:

• Someone else trademarks your business name and forces you to rebrand.
• Your course content is duplicated and sold by someone you trusted.
• A designer uses your logo style for another client.
• You go viral… but someone else owns the rights to your phrase.

We’ve seen it all. And we built this law firm so that you don’t have to learn the hard way.

What Can You Do Today?

Here are three quick steps to get started:

1. Audit your brand assets. What have you created that sets you apart? (Names, taglines, logos, content, etc.)
2. Check your ownership. Do you own the rights to your logo, website copy, or contracts—or does your designer or developer?
3. Prioritize protection. Start with a trademark for your brand name, then move into contracts and copyrights.

Final Word from The Nest

If you’re building something meaningful, you owe it to yourself to protect it. Not just from legal threats, but from burnout, boundary violations, and broken trust. IP law gives you tools to protect your work, assert your worth, and grow on your own terms.

At Canary and Hedge, we do law differently. And through The Nest, we’re giving you the tools, insight, and encouragement to move boldly in business. Stick around.

Need help protecting your IP? Book consult with our team at canaryandhedge.com.