Why Most Businesses Fail at Legally Protecting Themselves!

While SMEs are increasingly aware of the importance of intellectual property only a fraction of business owners are getting the right IP protection

That’s because IP is a complex subject, and business owners often don’t have a clue what they should do until it’s too late! Most will find out how well they’ve secured their IP once it gets challenged. If they’ve done it themselves then that’s when they’ll realise that the £200 trademark they thought was sufficient, isn’t!

Often businesses focus on the wrong IP, or register a right without first establishing whether it is legally available to use.

A common myth is that if you don’t have the resources to challenge other people’s use of your IP, there is no point in securing any IP rights in the first place. By not laying claim to an  IP someone else could use it, leading to disputes. Even without the resources to defend an IP right, litigation might arise. Costs involved in ceasing to use IP are ten times as much as costs to protect your rights in the first place.

But if you think IP is just about registration of rights, you’re missing the point. There are many facets to the subject. It requires guidance and support from an experienced IP lawyer to determine what the right strategy is for protecting your business assets.

Find out more via our website or one of our workshops.