Intellectual property (IP) is an idea, plan or any creative output that you/your business have invented or created using your intellect. IP starts with the trade secret and covers everything including your business idea, logo, brand or any invention that could be considered as a process/service/product.
As a business owner, you might’ve taken steps to protect your tangible business valuables like office premises, vehicles, and others. But, have you thought about protecting your intangible assets/valuables of your business? If you haven’t, it is high time you consider taking the necessary steps.
In particular, all businesses irrespective of their size should stay aware of their IP ownership and rights. In this article let us see what Intellectual Property rights are and ways to protect it.
Importance of Intellectual Property rights:
It is easy for a competitor to adopt your Intellectual Property. If you do not take precaution then chances are your competitor may use and bring your idea/invention first to the market. Intellectual Property thefts will be handled legally. Also, it might take several years to get resolved depending on the severity of the theft. Such legal disputes can cost up to millions of pounds in compensation/fees. It is more painful to know that negative publicity can cause severe damage to your business.
Even in the past, there have been several legal conflicts between large and small companies alleging and suing each other over Intellectual Property theft. Hence, a simple way to stay safe from Intellectual Property theft or similar legal strife is by protecting your unique business secret.
Intellectual Property – How do you protect it?
There are different ways to protect your IP. The level of protection obtained depends on the nature of your IP requirement. Intellectual Property rights fall under four categories namely:
- Copyright
- Design rights
- Patent
- Trademark
Let us look about each one of them in detail.
1.Copyright:
Copyright or author’s right is automatic legal protection that creators have over their artistic or literary work. Creative works covered by copyright are:
- Books, articles, and maps
- Web content, color theme, and graphic design
- Sound and music recordings
- Computer programs, databases, and games
- Technical or architectural drawings, sculptures, and painting
- TV shows, films, and advertisements
It is an automatic right and it arises when an idea is created by a business or an individual. To obtain the rights and to qualify, the work should be esteemed as original and exhibit a certain degree of skill.
You can mark your work, your name and the year of creation with the copyright symbol (©). Copyright simply stops others from using or copying or sharing your idea without your consent.
Duration of copyright:
The duration of copyright exists until 70 years (end of a calendar year) from the death of the last remaining author. If the author is unknown the copyright will last for 70 years from when the work was first created.
If the work has been made available to the public at a different date, then the duration will be 70 years from when it was first made known to the public through ads, publication, exhibition or broadcast.
2.Design rights:
Each product will have its own unique design that differentiates it from the other products. The product design can be either be two-dimensional or three-dimensional. A design right is the one that protects the unique look or appearance of the product. ‘Non-registered’ design rights arise automatically on the creation or invention of a product. You can apply and get your design registered provided it is new and original.
Duration of design rights:
If the design rights are granted – it will last for up to 25 years and it has to be renewed every 5 years. On the other hand, unregistered design rights last for up to 10 years.