It is important for any business to be aware of the various intellectual property (IP) rights which can be taken advantage of during the course of trade. These rights may arise automatically or by way of registration and can be of significant commercial value.
This article seeks to outline some of the main ways in which IP rights can be used to protect the most valuable assets of your business:
Trade marks
It is generally advisable to register your business or brand name as a trade mark. This will help prevent others from using your mark or a similar mark for identical or similar goods and services for a renewable period of ten years. Once registered, using the ® symbol will notify third parties of your right and may discourage unauthorised use.
When choosing a brand name, it is prudent to carry out searches to ensure this name will not infringe existing marks. The internet is an obvious place to start however trade mark agents can be instructed to conduct more comprehensive searches.
Patents
A patent can be obtained for inventions which are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application. However there are a number of exceptions to what can be patented (eg methods of doing business). This is an extremely valuable asset as it gives a 20-year monopoly in exchange for placing details of the invention on the public register.
If you are considering applying for a patent, it is important to keep the invention confidential until the application has been filed. Once filed, you will then have 12 months in which to disclose and demonstrate the invention to third parties before deciding whether to pursue the application process.
Designs
Many businesses do not realise that new designs for manufactured items, whilst not always patentable, can be protected as UK or community-registered designs. This is a relatively straightforward procedure and will allow you to prevent others from making articles to that design for up to 25 years.
Even where registration is not possible, you may still benefit from unregistered design right protection. This will apply to original 3-dimensional shapes and configurations which are not ‘commonplace’ in the design field. If established, this will provide some protection against copying.
Copyright
Copyright will subsist in ‘original’ works falling into certain categories including literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works. This will cover items such as source code text for software, databases, photographs and drawings.
Any business will have numerous works which qualify for protection. For those works with real commercial value it is sensible to include the © symbol together with the name of the owner and the year it was created. This will notify third parties of your rights and will allow them to contact you should they wish to obtain a licence.
Databases
Where there has been substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents of a database, for example key customer lists, it may be possible to benefit from a separate database right. This will allow you to prevent others from extracting and re-utilising information on the database without your authorisation.
Software
It is generally not possible to patent software in the UK, although you may wish to consider seeking patent protection abroad if the software will be used extensively outside the jurisdiction.
The source code itself will be protected by copyright provided it has not been copied from elsewhere, however protection does not extend to the ideas behind the software. It is therefore advisable to keep the source code and software specifications confidential where possible and to ensure that non-disclosure agreements are in place for those who do have access.
Confidential information
A business will inevitably have certain trade secrets and confidential information which it needs to protect. Whilst some of this information may be protected by implied duties of confidence, you should ensure that access to confidential information is limited to those employees who need it and that clear policies are in place to deal with misuse of such information.
The commercial advantages of building a strong intellectual property portfolio cannot be understated. Any business will have information, inventions, ideas or designs which are highly valuable and making effective use of the IP rights set out above can help to ensure that those assets are properly protected.
Having these rights in place will also make a business more attractive to investors and prospective purchasers. IP protection is therefore particularly important for small businesses looking to achieve growth and possibly expand into new markets.
Further reading on intellectual property
