What is Intellectual Property and Why Does it Matter to You?

Every business will have intellectual property to protect, although the actions to take will be very different depending on the business and the intellectual property involved.

Say you’ve invented some innovative way to solve a problem that no one else has managed to solve. In the case of Anywayup cup it was a baby cup with an innovative lid that didn’t spill. For C-Pen it was a pen that scans the text of a document directly to your computer. A patent is available in both these situations to protect your investment.  Arguably, for product-based inventions a patent is essential because it gives you a legal monopoly in the invention. The patent, if well drafted, makes it difficult for others to copy your invention. Without patent protection well-resourced manufacturers could enter the same market once they realise you are onto something, and use their greater financial muscle to produce and publicise a similar offering.

Then suppose you have selected the perfect name for your invention and had a logo developed for it with an attractive design. How would you feel if you were to find out after spending time and resources promoting the name, that it couldn’t be exclusive to you because the name is incapable of functioning as a trademark? This is what happened to Tesco’s Clubcard. The name it chose for its loyalty program has proved impossible to protect. If this was you, wouldn’t you prefer to know about it in advance, so you could make a better choice? Or, say you find that the name is not legally available and you then lose everything overnight when a trade mark owner is able to put a stop to your continued use of your name? This is what happened to Scrabulous whose business on Facebook went up in a puff of smoke. And did you know that if you don’t take the right actions in relation to your logo, you could find yourself on the wrong end of a dispute as happened to Innocent who at one point lost the right to use their iconic logo. Would you have the resources to appeal such a decision as they did? These are just some examples of what can happen when you don’t get timely IP advice.

Every business has IP issues to consider because every business has a name, a logo, a website, a database of contacts and more. These are all intangible assets which are important to the success of a business.

What is IP?

IP is the collective name for the rights that protect creativity, imagination and ideas. It’s very wide ranging and the rules are often complex.

Trademarks identify your products or services, secure exclusive rights over the name of your business and contain the value of your brand. With the right name you can stop competitors stealing business away from you. Copyright is another essential intellectual property right. Every business uses copyright works because every business is likely to have a logo, website, brochures, photographs, packaging, software etc. Design protection is another type of IP right which is often overlooked. However, it is a powerful tool for protecting your market share and preventing competitors from copying your ideas.

The Benefits of Protecting Your Intellectual Property

Strategic decisions about IP should be made early in the business so as to make good choices of IP, and determine how best to protect yourself with your available resources.

IP presents both risks and opportunities. Used wisely, IP advice and protection

• increases the value of your business,
• helps grow your profit margins,
• creates income streams,
• attracts finance,
• protects your market share,
• prevents competitors from copying your ideas,
• reduces future risks and liability (including personal liability of directors),
• protects the effort you put into your business, and
• gives you a legal monopoly.

Common IP Mistakes

A common mistake is to assume that IP advice is just needed if a business has a potential patent or trade mark to register. In the digital economy IP support is needed for every business.

Another error we often see, is businesses simply registering their trademark without doing any due diligence searches. It’s important to note that a trademark registration can be cancelled if someone else has better rights to the name. This is what happened to Microsoft who had registered Skydrive as a trademark only to have its use of the name challenged. Rebranding to Onedrive cost millions. Not every business has the resources of Microsoft to shoulder the costs that a rebrand invariably involves.

Some business owners justify ignoring IP on the grounds that they don’t have the resources to litigate. They wonder what is the point of protecting their IP. You’re actually much more likely to get into a dispute if you don’t register your rights than if you do. Owning registered IP rights can be a very useful bargaining tool if you find yourself threatened by a competitor. Unfortunately disputes relating to intellectual property may arise when your business has taken off and your IP has acquired value. Not protecting it could lay yourself wide open. So don’t expose yourself to litigation by not taking some basic steps to protect yourself.

How To Protect Your Intellectual Property?

IP help is important when you’re deciding how to implement your idea because the choices you make when bringing your ideas to life are all IP decisions. By consulting an IP lawyer at that early stage you are much better placed to make effective choices, and reduce the likelihood of having to undo ill considered decisions later on.Taking a holistic approach to IP is crucial.

We are well placed to help you to take control of your intellectual property so your business can flourish from a secure foundation. Do get in touch for a no obligation confidential discussion.