Toggle navigation. Intellectual property. Understand the different types of IP protection and how they can help your business. Types of IP rights. The most common types of IP rights are: Patents - protect inventions and new processes Trade marks - protect logos, words and other branding Copyright - protects art, writing, music, film, and computer programs Registered designs - protects the visual design of a product Circuit layout rights - protect layout designs or plans of integrated circuits used in computer-generated designs Plant breeders rights - protect the commercial rights of new plant varieties.
Identifying your IP assets. When you identify, monitor and value your assets make sure you think about: the products or services that are key to your business your legal rights in relation to your products or services the market advantages your rights can give you. Protecting your IP. Doing this will: ensure you don't infringe on existing IP rights exclude other businesses from making, using, selling or importing your product or service help you gain entry into a market overseas. Check if your IP is available overseas If you want to operate your business overseas, you'll need to research the IP records of the country you want to do business with.
Check if your trade mark exists in another country. Register your IP overseas If you want IP protection in other countries you either need to: make a separate application in each country find a global service that streamlines the application process if you intend to apply in many countries. Find out how to register for IP protection overseas. Infringing another IP right While it's important to protect your IP, it is equally important that you don't infringe the IP ownership of others.
Someone infringing on your IP Your IP rights may be infringed when your work, protected by IP laws, is used, copied or mistreated without your permission. To take legal action, you'll need to prove that: the infringer has copied whole or part of your work your IP rights exist the infringer did not have permission or consent to copy your work.
Find more information on understanding infringement. Protection is given at both the UK and EU level. The EU right is broader in scope but only lasts for three years. Under the UK right, protection lasts for the lesser of 15 years from first recording or ten years from first marketing. It is possible to protect sensitive business information through rights in confidential information which covers know-how and trade secrets.
Although not strictly IP rights, they can protect sensitive information both technical and commercial and do not need to be registered. To be enforceable, the information must satisfy three tests:.
Call us on: 60 95 Get in touch In need of legal advice? Nature of enquiry Personal Legal Services Business legal services. X Close. Avoids infringing the IP rights of other people and businesses. What is intellectual property? Types of intellectual property rights IP rights fall into two general categories: Registered rights. They include: patents; trade marks; and registered designs. These arise automatically, give protection against copying or using the right, and include: copyright; unregistered trade marks; unregistered design rights; and confidential information.
Patents Patents provide inventors with a legally protectable monopoly over their inventions and protect new and inventive technical features of products and processes. To qualify for patent protection, an invention must: be new; involve an inventive step; be capable of industrial application; and not be specifically excluded from protection for example, methods of doing business.
Trade marks A trade mark is a sign or symbol used by a trader to distinguish its products or services from those of other traders. For example: a brand name; a company logo; or packaging. To be registrable, a trade mark must be: capable of being represented graphically; distinctive; capable of distinguishing goods or services; and not excluded by law. It requires: proof of a reputation in the mark; a misrepresentation that could mislead the public; and proof of damage for example, financial loss or damage to goodwill.
Copyright Copyright protects original artistic, musical, dramatic and literary works including computer programs , sound recordings, films, broadcasts and typographical arrangements of published works. Moreover, in some states like California, state laws permit employees who develop inventions on their own time to retain intellectual property and assignment rights so long as the employee does not use company equipment, supplies, or facilities.
Independent contractors have even more rights. Written agreements can make sure that all rights are assigned to the company. In fact, a written agreement is required for certain types of intellectual property assignments. Ensuring that a startup owns the intellectual property rights is critical. It is important to clearly identify who owns what. A startup should take the following steps to ensure it owns the intellectual property necessary for its business:.
Cash is king at startups. Ever wary of minimizing burn rate, technology startups may be tempted to defer investment in intellectual property protection. To those who have not tried to protect intellectual property, it feels complex and expensive. Too often, startups end up forfeiting intellectual property rights by neglecting to protect their hard work. Some simple and cost-effective techniques can minimize the anxiety yet help protect core assets. A good starting point is to critically evaluate the value proposition of your company and the intellectual property assets that are critical to those value propositions.
This kind of evaluation is helpful in raising funds and can be critical in protecting your core assets. Companies sometimes think that patent protection is the only way to protect itself. Technology startups frequently ignore the value of non-patent intellectual property. Trade secrets, cybersecurity policies, trademarks, and copyrights can all be forms of IP that can be protected.
Knowing your IP and how it is protected is often a very material issue for investors and acquirers. To make sure the company knows what it has, it is a good practice to keep copies of everything in an online data room, including:.
Your brand can be immensely valuable in the marketplace. Startups should make sure their name and any logos are clear for commercial use. Here are some of the steps to avoiding naming issues:. If the names and logos are available to use, startups should register them as trademarks. You can also create a record as an early user of the name and logo. Trademarks are also relatively cost effective, with U. Patents can be valuable assets of the company. Patent portfolios are often understood to provide offensive benefits—as a way to box out competitors in similar technology spaces.
However, patents have extensive defensive benefits as well. For example, a defensive patent portfolio can serve as an important bargaining chip in the event a startup is threatened with patent infringement by a competitor. This can either lead to a number of relatively favorable outcome for a startup including better settlement terms or an opportunity to cross-license. It may also permit an opportunity to file counterclaims if any litigation is initiated.
A common question people ask is, How many patents should I file? A lot of companies spend extraordinary amounts on a wide-ranging field of patents. Others spend nothing.
Normally, both of these decisions are a mistake. As a technology startup, developing a wide-ranging patent portfolio is time consuming, expensive, and unlikely to provide a return on investment in the short term.
Filing a large number of cheap but poorly drafted patents also rarely creates value for startups. A best practice is to seek patents directed to the core value of your innovation. Another best practice is to seek patent claims that can actually be monitored.
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