Throwback to my Big Law days. Two pharma companies were fighting like starving hyenas over a patent,  an invention for giving babies medicine (basically, an injection). One of them copied it and started selling their own version. I was working on the case, and the senior attorney sent me to the biggest public library in Mexico to find evidence of prior inventions. I searched for two hours… and then took a nap.

Pharma was incredibly adversarial. They had the money and the patents. But something about it always conflicted me.

Fast forward eight years later: I’m now an attorney working in frontier technology, where founders scream “no governments, no banks, let’s give the code to the people!” Seriously, the ethos of blockchain goes back to the 90s, when code became free and accessible for everyone to build upon. And I love that.

But here’s the thing — when I’m walking my dogs, I wish dog owners would pick up after them, say hi, and throw away their trash. The world, however, doesn’t always work that way. While there are a lot of good people, there are also those who steal, envy, and take advantage of others. That applies to business too.

So, while I’m not suggesting you should become an a** just because the world can be, I am suggesting you use technology and the legal system to protect your “baby”, your code. Let others use it and build upon it, yes, but set clear legal boundaries for what they can do. Protect it fiercely, and make sure you’re credited and compensated for its conception. There’s nothing wrong with that.

The ethos every founder should follow is:

“I’m a kind, giving person — until you piss me off (or take my code without giving back).”

Today, we can actually do this with blockchain technology. I’ve seen it happen — startups get excited about licensing their code in open-source ways. They release it, and then someone comes along, takes the code, raises millions, or builds something better. The original creator is left frustrated, disappointed, and most importantly, without any legal recourse. That’s why strategy must come before the damage is done, not after. Otherwise, you’ll end up hiring lawyers for a costly opinion that starts with, “There’s nothing you can do,” or, “Doing something will cost you millions.”

So next time, make it open with protections.

This also ensures you can monetize from others using it. Remember: unlike your car, intangible assets gain value through use. So if you’re building something cool that others can use and pay you back for, we’re all building better systems — and giving founders new sources of revenue.

And how you monetize depends on your project, not all projects are created equal. Like attorneys we say, it depends.

Feel free to reach out!