I read this book 3 yrs ago, and it helped to explain the different legal mechanisms available to protect a company and its products.

There's no single source of information nor one person (not even if you're willing to pay a lawyer) who will explain it all to you.

However, this book set me off in the right direction to thinking about the aspects of my products that I could patent, what I should trademark and what copyrights I had with my products.

At least, I was able to ask the right questions when I got around to consulting a lawyer. I think the lawyer also appreciated that he did not have to spend time and explain to me (what was obvious to him) the different strategies to protect intellectual property. I think this made him willing to help me with better advice.

Of course, I needed to learn more about drafting patents, and also the different geographic regions granting protection to different patents. I had to learn more about trademarks and the right strategy to registering trademarks in different regions. All this is important since they come with a cost, so you want to control your costs and budget for the time you incur those costs. But it does make a difference in the value, credibility and sustainability of your business.

I read this book 3 yrs ago, and it helped to explain the different legal mechanisms available to protect a company and its products.

There's no single source of information nor one person (not even if you're willing to pay a lawyer) who will explain it all to you.

However, this book set me off in the right direction to thinking about the aspects of my products that I could patent, what I should trademark and what copyrights I had with my products.

At least, I was able to ask the right questions when I got around to consulting a lawyer. I think the lawyer also appreciated that he did not have to spend time and explain to me (what was obvious to him) the different strategies to protect intellectual property. I think this made him willing to help me with better advice.

Of course, I needed to learn more about drafting patents, and also the different geographic regions granting protection to different patents. I had to learn more about trademarks and the right strategy to registering trademarks in different regions. All this is important since they come with a cost, so you want to control your costs and budget for the time you incur those costs. But it does make a difference in the value, credibility and sustainability of your business.

I wonder if the creators of that operating system had this book, would anyone know of Bill Gates or Microsoft; or if Xerox held its research and development of the paperless office, would the Information Technology field be totally different- yeah you know where I am going with this.



If you are a creative mind searching for a way to protect your hard work and development, GET THIS BOOK for it is a sound minded investment for your greatest assets: ideas that move the world and generate money.



This book explained all the types of Creative Assets Protection out there. Granted it does not read as the other Rich Dad books, not as personal, but its lessons and information are vital not only to understand various intellectual properties, but also to seeking the best legal representation in both the physical and cyberspace.

I wonder if the creators of that operating system had this book, would anyone know of Bill Gates or Microsoft; or if Xerox held its research and development of the paperless office, would the Information Technology field be totally different- yeah you know where I am going with this.

If you are a creative mind searching for a way to protect your hard work and development, GET THIS BOOK for it is a sound minded investment for your greatest assets: ideas that move the world and generate money.

This book explained all the types of Creative Assets Protection out there. Granted it does not read as the other Rich Dad books, not as personal, but its lessons and information are vital not only to understand various intellectual properties, but also to seeking the best legal representation in both the physical and cyberspace.

I think I know how this book was written. A whole lot of cut and paste from U.S. Law code with some mediocre story telling sprinkled in. If you want to be technical and write in the language of professional law, fine. But this is not the series to do it in.

Unlike the rest of the Rich Dad books that I've read -- which were for the most part fantastic -- this book was terrible. Michael Lechter may indeed be a very bright guy and a star in his field, but he is an absolutely horrendous writer. The intro by Robert Kiyosaki was the only really enjoyable part to the book. Lechter immediately jumped into complex explanations of the various types of IP protection available without really clarifying anything for the lay person like me. And no real life examples of anything -- just references to a couple hypothetical "horror stories" that he relays at the beginning of the book. The only reason I gave this book 2 stars and not 1 is because at the very least I was able to get some basic definitions of IP terms down. But I guess I could've gotten that from a dictionary too.

This book was an extremely helpful book for me because of the fact that it covers so many different areas of intellectual property protection. Because it covers so much and so many different types of intellectual property protection, it is a book that really makes you think about all the possibilities. I like the fact that it is very broad. Considering that the book is written by an attorney who is bound by the rules of ethics not to disclose his client's confidential matters, I found the book to have ample specifics and examples of different types of intellectual property protection.

My personal impression is that it is a book that can help business owners looking to protect their intellectual property as well as those who are interested in a more scholarly approach. That is the genius of this book. It can be very useful to many different kinds of readers. I think that even a lot of attorneys who practice in different areas of the law would probably find this book extremely valuable. That is a great complement to the author.

As the title indicates, it makes you realize that your intellectual property is really your number one asset.

Background: I've read all of the RD books, 6 of the Rich Dad's Advisors series, and other books by the RDA authors. For all of the RD/RDA books, I have found the conversational style to be very readable and an effective manner in which to convey information. With this book, however, it was a struggle to get through it. In terms of readability and value, this is the worst RD book I've read.

Coverage of Material: I am not knowledgable about IP law, and I felt that this book provided a basic coverage of the issues.

Organization: One frustration I had was that a lot of material was repeated, and obviously so. Rather than organizing the book in a more efficient manner, the author instead chose to repeat certain passages. When I've paid for a book, I don't care for the same half-page passage repeated three or four times.

Writing Style: The first part of the book was well written. I especially liked the initial horror stories and phone conversation, both of which were written in a conversational style. If that style had been maintained throughout the book, I would have given it 4 or 5 stars. However, the writing quickly degraded to being almost unbearable. Some parts of the book were written with a condescending tone, and it seemed that Mr. Lechter was stroking his ego. I also found the lengthy discussion on the Internet's structure to be tedious and unnecessary, perhaps a filler to increase the page count. This information was not relevant to the subject; a one or two page summary of the Internet would have been sufficient.

Other Comments: I've enjoyed Robert Kiyosaki's books, but as a whole they are full of contradicting information. This book was no exception. In the foreword, Mr. Kiyosaki uses the same quote three times, wording it differently each time, and giving two different references (Rich Dad for two, himself for one).

Bottom Line: I read this book because I want to read all of the Rich Dad and Rich Dad's Advisors books. In general, although a few of them are blatant advertisements, I've learned something from each one. In the case of this book, I would strongly suggest you find an alternative, unless you want this book because of the series affiliation. Legal primers available online provide a better value.

Micheal Lechter has done us all a valuable favor by writing this book! As an experienced attorney dealing with copyrights, patents, and trademarks, his experience, illustrations and insights are priceless! If you are a business owner, investor, inventor, author, or doing just about ANYTHING that has income potential beyond a 9-5 job, then you NEED to read, absorb and apply the knowledge of this book to protect yourself from the competition and "thieves" out there who would like to profit from your intellectual property--at YOUR expense. This is a "must read" as a part of your overall business and investment education. I also recommend ALL of Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad" books, and thus far, all the "Rich Dad Advisor" series that I have read (of which this book is a part) are also worthy of your time and investment.

Micheal Lechter has done us all a valuable favor by writing this book! As an experienced attorney dealing with copyrights, patents, and trademarks, his experience, illustrations and insights are priceless! If you are a business owner, investor, inventor, author, or doing just about ANYTHING that has income potential beyond a 9-5 job, then you NEED to read, absorb and apply the knowledge of this book to protect yourself from the competition and "thieves" out there who would like to profit from your intellectual property--at YOUR expense. This is a "must read" as a part of your overall business and investment education. I also recommend ALL of Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad" books, and thus far, all the "Rich Dad Advisor" series that I have read (of which this book is a part) are also worthy of your time and investment.

I strongly recommend this book. One of my friends lent me a copy of Protecting Your #1 Asset He knew about some of the things that I was doing in my business, and insisted that I read the book. He told me that the book was so good that it actually being used as the text for graduate-level college courses.

I was afraid that it would be very dry and difficult to read and understand -- but my friend insisted that I read it. He was right. This complex subject was presented in a way that was really simple and easy to read and understand. I realized that I was "leaving money on the table" and now I keep a copy near my desk and use the copy my friend loaned to me as a copy to loan to my friends.

I hear Michael on CNET Radio on Online Tonight with David Lawrence. I've just finished reading "Protecting Your #1 Assets" and was really happy to get it. It was filled with answers and it really helped give me focus for goals I had at the office. In particular, it hit home in regards to the importance of protection. This is not an easy subject to find good information about - Michaels book really made it much easier for me to learn what to do and how to avoid some of the nightmares I was almost ready to discover first hand.

I read the book and thought it was an excellent primer in intellectual property law. I also spoke to a friend of mine who works in a large law firm (100+) attorneys in Milwaukee. He told me that the attorneys in the IP department in this prestigious firm use this book as a reference. I think that speaks quite highly of the book. I strongly recommend it.

Although I have found Robert Kiyosaki's books to be excellent, I am SO unimpressed, bored, and resentful of this book. Basically, it is almost 300 pages of this phrase right here: "Get professional help". There- done. You have now read the book. I agree with many of the other reviews here, in that it really isn't helpful to someone interested in protecting their ideas, but only helpful to Kiyosaki and the author. This is an "Advisor" series book, and it has made me skeptical of the rest of them. Sales Dogs is also not helpful unless you are already experienced in sales.

This book has a great deal of useful information on protecting your ideas and a lot of intellectual property legal mumbo jumbo, but it provides ZERO ideas or insights on selling your ideas-which is the hardest part. Every Jane Doe and Joe Schmoe has great ideas that could potentially make them millions in licensing fees and royalties, but actually taking a great idea and turning it into cash in the bank-unless you are a wizard at raising capital-is nigh on impossible.
Unfortunately this book is no help whatsoever. A fairly good legal reference on intellectual property law, nothing more.

Frankly speaking, I am quite disappointed with this book.

When I bought this book, I had the impression that it is about the protection of intellectual capital. Also, I was attracted to the book because of an introduction by Robert Kiyosaki, whose work I am very familiar.

Although the book gives a broad brush about intellectual property (IP) protection from many different perspectives, and offers some useful guidelines to help protect your intellectual interests, it is somewhat incomplete as far as the protection of ideas or intellectual capital is concerned.

It does not give any specific illustration and/or example on how to protect your intellectual capital from the standpoint of goodwill, reputation, expertise, (especially accumulated practical skills), data and know-how...more specifically, your ideas and/or "working methodologies" which are embodied in products and services.

Take an example from the book, on page 58, under Utility Patent Protection, the author talked about:

"Business method is patentable if:

- it produces a useful, concrete, and tangible result; and
- it is novel and not obvious;

but the book stops short of giving specific business cases or product examples to illustrate this key point. This is, to me, intellectual capital, and I want to know how to protect it!

As a matter of fact, the author talked about how he came to know Robert Kiyosaki...from the CashFlow game. Funny enough, the author did not even bother to give any detailed account on the IP protection scheme pertaining to the game. Nothing at all, period. I thought this would have been a very appropriate subject, because of the need for the protection of intellectual capital behind the development of the game - and the gameplay procedure - from pirates.

The book listed a lot of other IP stuff, which were not covered in the book, but the author directed the reader to his website. For example, the author introduced his IP self-audit checklist, among other things, which sounds interesting. When I checked his website, I realised I had to fork out US$129/- to buy a CD-ROM containing the stuff.

My overall personal impression of the book is that both Michael Lechter and Robert Kiyosaki are using each other to sell each other's products and services! (which are well-illustrated on many end pages of the book!) The poor reader is expected to fork out more effort and money...maybe that's why the Rich Dad series of products are so lucrative for the author.

On the whole, this book falls short of my personal expectations. I am very disappointed with the author and also, Robert Kiyosaki.

To be fair to the author, I feel that the book, even though it is incomplete from my personal viewpoint, still provides a broad-brush about IP, - especially on copyrights, patents,and trademarks, - from many different perspectives.

Protecting Your #1 Asset is one of the most helpful introductions to the legal side of intellectual property acquisition and management that I have seen. Few who are not intellectual property attorneys have this knowledge. As a result of ignorance, many well-meaning individuals make substantial mistakes that cost them substantial incomes. This book will "alert you to the pitfalls that can strip the rights from the unwary."

This book covers the primary ways to protect intellectual property, including trade secrets, utility and design patents, mask work protection, copyrights, trademarks, and trade dress. This is done in the context of maximizing your revenue and income by creating protected intellectual property and creating competitive barriers, while minimizing the risk of receiving and being harmed by third-party claims against you.

The book's set piece is Robert Kiyosaki's experience with inventing what he called a "shoe pocket" which was Velcro and nylon wallet that is now called a "surfer shoe." Mr. Kiyosaki did not protect his idea, and was soon put out of business by competitors who copied and outperformed him. The book then goes into a number of horror story examples of how simple mistakes can cost a person or a company its intellectual property. Some mistakes can be as simple as not properly dating invention notes, while others can involve "abandoning" the invention by not continuously working on it.

The book gives you a lot of guidelines of what you need to do to obtain and retain protection, and helps you understand the pros and cons (and availability of these protections).

As someone who studied intellectual property in law school, I found the book impressive. I intend to recommend it to those I know who are developing intellectual property but have limited knowledge of the field.

The book's main weakness is that it doesn't give you a sense of what the costs are related to these protections. If you have intellectual property worth a billion dollars and lots of cash now, that's not a problem. Go for the best protection! On the other hand, if you have something that you're not sure what the value is and not much cash, you may want to take the less expensive routes. Top intellectual property legal advice will usually cost hundreds of dollars an hour. A worldwide patent position can cost well into six figures in dollars. So if you need intellectual property counsel, get into those cost issues at the beginning of your relationship. If trade secret and copyright protections are enough, the advantage they have is that they are not very costly to obtain and maintain. In seeking out intellectual property help, do try to find an attorney who is experienced and has educational credentials in the field in which you are seeking protection for your work. A small percentage of the bar (less than 5 percent) is well qualified to work in these areas as Mr. Lechter implies. Within that small group, one person in 30 will probably be much better suited to your issues. Take the time to find that person.

After you finish reading and thinking about this book, I suggest that you also consider how you could build a business out of just creating intellectual property. That business model may be one of the most valuable in the decades ahead.

Seek ideal improvements daily!

Intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets) is one of the most valuable assets of any business, whether it be a start-up or large multi-national. Business people, however, who are already overextended, usually don't have time to learn intellectual property basics or how to utilize intellectual property to maximize profits. Mike Lechter's book is the first to cut through the jargon and explain in plain English how to recognize and protect valuable intellectual property. The reader receives a solid, working knowledge of all aspects of intellectual property law complete with examples. A powerful business tool for corporate professionals and entrepreneurs.