Keep your mind on your Intellectual Property.

A key area that I cover in my business legal audits is Intellectual Property (IP) Rights and time and time again it seems to be the one area that many business owners don’t have under control at all. Most of the time they don't even know what IP they actually have, let alone how to protect it.

If you fall into that category, I’ve prepared a quick whistlestop tour / overview below to give you a steer in the right direction.

What is IP?
IP is essentially anything you create with your mind that you can own - like a new invention, a piece of music, a book, a logo, or a design.

How do you protect it?

There are various ways to protect your IP, and in some cases you need to register it.

You should always consider formally protecting your IP, especially if it is a core part of your business. By doing so, you will minimise the risk of another person/business using it without your agreement and if they do you will have the legal means to stop them. You also want to ensure that no other business beats you to it when it comes to registration (See below).

1. For business/trading names, logos, product names, marketing taglines, etc…

   consider registering them as a trade mark.
   
   Using your trade marks can generate goodwill (a valuable asset), which arises from the reputation associated with the trade mark(s)/brand. While unregistered trade marks get some protection, registering means that you can enforce your rights more easily. Registration can also be a deterrent to other businesses.
   

2. If your business designs products where the appearance is important…

   consider registering those designs.
   
   In the UK, designs get some automatic protections when created but, unlike registered designs, they don't give you monopoly rights and you need to prove that the design was actually copied to sue for infringement. Once registered, the design will get protection for 25 years, if renewed every 5 years.

3. If you work in a creative field that produces artistic works, sound/film recordings, or literary, dramatic or musical works (or a tech field producing source code to software)…

   your work will automatically be protected by copyright if it's original.
   
   However, the work has to be recorded (not just in your head) and it's helpful to have a date stamp of some kind, in case there is a dispute - it's a first come, first served basis.

   Because the author/creator of the work is the first owner of the copyright, for any collaborations make sure you set out clearly who the copyright belongs to. Copyright protection usually expires 70 years after the death of the author, after which works are ‘in the public domain’.

4. If your business creates products, inventions, processes, or devices…

   consider applying for a patent.
   
   To be patentable something must be new i.e. not previously disclosed to the public, it must involve an inventive step, and it must be capable of industrial application. There are certain things that are specifically excluded from patent protection (too much to cover here). A UK patent is valid for 20 years from the date of grant, though the process of obtaining the patent can take a few years.
   
   Hopefully this is a useful overview of IP and the various protections available, but if you'd like further support with identifying and protecting your IP, don’t hesitate to get in touch.