Intellectual Property
The Intellectual Property in a business can be put into one or more categories. Some IP may be capable of being protected in more than one way. We can work with you to identify and classify your IP. The main forms of IP are summarised below. The first three of these need specific action to register the IP and protect it. Copyright is an automatic protection, Trade Secrets and Know-How can be protected by non-disclosure agreements.
Patents
A patent protects how something works. It can protect what it is made of, and even how it is made. It does not protect the appearance of the implementation. For that you must register a Design Right. So if your implementation has a new function or any technical elements, use a patent to protect it.
Registered Designs
Registered Designs protect the appearance of an item if it is novel. They do not protect the functionality. If your implementation is simply a new look for an existing product with no technical changes then design rights can be a cost-effective route to give you some protection. Unregistered design rights exist automatically, but you would have to prove that someone has copied your design. You can register your design with the UK IPO to protect it. If you need to protect how the implementation works, then you should consider using a patent. Trade Marks
A trade mark protects things like brands, business names, product names, advertising slogans and logos. If you have a business idea for a new service offering, this may be the best and only way to gain some protection. The Trade Mark can be registered or unregistered. An unregistered Trade Mark gains some protection merely by being used but it may be challenged by someone having a prior right to a similar mark. A registered Trade Mark can provide important additional benefits and should be used for any business critical branding. Copyright
Copyright is an automatic right for the author of any artistic or literary work including engineering drawings and similar items. Copyright exists as soon as the work is created. You cannot register Copyright in the UK and you do not need to, provided that you can show you produced the original work. Trade Secrets and Know-How
Obviously by their very nature if these are put in the Public Domain they are no longer protected so if a Trade Secret or Know-How is being provided as part of a business arrangement then it must be protected by a non-disclosure agreement.
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