Intellectual property and patent protection can be hazardous ground for small business. This article addresses these issues with input from several attorneys, including Finnegan partner Linda Thayer, who discusses specific IP dangers and how small businesses can work to avoid them. The article highlights five specific dangers, including advertising and selling a product without first researching the patent landscape, which Thayer considers one of the biggest mistakes a small business can make when it comes to IP. “Hasty entry into a hot market, such as iPhone apps, can be guaranteed to bring on litigation faster than you can find Marshall, Texas, on a map,” says Thayer, “And though many such suits are meritless, proving so may be infeasible for a small company that is watching every penny.” Thayer goes on to advise businesses to perform due diligence, either in-house or via outside counsel, prior to sinking major development costs into a new venture.