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If you own a business in the UK, you almost certainly have some intellectual property (IP) assets. Intellectual property is an intangible asset. Essentially, it is something that you or one of your employees has created with their mind. This could be something written, some kind of graphic or illustration, or the logo you have chosen for your business. This article will explain how you can ensure that any intellectual property your business creates is correctly protected.
Literary Works, Drawings, Illustrations, and Other Creative Content
Copyright protects your business’ expression of ideas. This might include the text you put on your website and in catalogues, or how you describe your products. It also protects pictures or illustrations you create and any audio-visual material made by your business. Copyright protection is automatic in the UK, so you do not need to complete any registration to protect your business. However, it is a good idea to show the copyright symbol (©) on your written materials, website and images. This makes it clear to others that the material belongs to you and is protected by copyright.
Company Product Designs
The shape and arrangement of any three-dimensional object that you create in your business will have automatic protection for 15 years or 10 years after you first sell it. Likewise, the appearance of a product has protection for three years automatically. As with copyright protection, in practice, you will need to prove when you created your design. One way to do this is to ensure all design drawings are signed and dated, and kept somewhere safe.
You can also register your designs for more robust protection. Registering your design through the Intellectual Property Office makes it easier to take legal action if someone uses your design without permission. It also provides longer protection of up to 25 years.
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Your Business’ Brand and Logo
A trade mark can protect anything like a logo or slogan that is part of your brand. However, this is not an automatic form of protection, unlike copyright and design protection. To get the protection of a trade mark, you must apply to register it. This is a relatively simple process that you can complete online.
Inventions
If your business invents products, then you can protect them with patents. Obtaining a patent is complicated and more expensive than other forms of IP protection. Additionally, the registration process takes time. However, once you receive a patent, you have the exclusive right to use your invention. You can renew your patent for up to 20 years. The Intellectual Property Office also handles patent applications in the UK.
Business Trade Secrets
Trade secrets are the intellectual know-how of your business. The processes, recipes and practices you have created to do business are your business trade secrets.
The best way to protect your business’ trade secrets is to ensure that your employment contracts contain confidentiality clauses. You can also ask any contractors to sign a non-disclosure agreement. A non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement explains what confidential information is in your business, and asks the contractor to not disclose any confidential information about your business to anyone else.
Ensuring You Protect All Your Business Assets
Now that you have an idea of the types of intellectual property in your business, it is time to take action. You should make a list of all the current intellectual property assets in your business to ensure that they are appropriately protected. It is also sensible to put procedures in place to ensure that anything you create in the future is protected. To help you do this, the Intellectual Property Office has a free tool you can use.
Key Takeaways
There are different ways to protect your business’ intellectual property, depending on what you need to protect. These include automatic protections include copyright and design protection, and protections that you must apply for like patents, trade marks and registered design protection. In addition, other things like your business know-how need to be protected by documents like confidentiality agreements or non-disclosure agreements. By considering all the different kinds of creative output your business has, you can develop a plan to ensure it is protected appropriately.
If you need help ensuring your business’ intellectual property is appropriately protected, our experienced Intellectual Property lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best way to protect your logo is to apply for a trade mark. You can do this online through the Intellectual Property Office, and it is a relatively straightforward process to apply.
In the UK, you cannot register your copyright. Instead, copyright is automatic. Your creative work gains copyright from the minute you create it, and you do not need to do anything in addition. However, in practice, it is good practice to keep proof of when you created the work, and to include the copyright symbol on all your creative content.
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