What Intellectual Property is Important for Creative Businesses?

If you are a creative business in England, it is worthwhile considering what types of intellectual property are important for you in the creative economy. In order to choose the best types of intellectual property that will assist with the growth and development of your business or brand, it is crucial to be aware of the best options for the creative sector. In this article, we will discuss various types of intellectual property that are extremely useful for creative businesses in terms of design, original work, and innovation.

Why is Intellectual Property Important for My Creative Business?

Intellectual property is a type of intangible property that forms part of the assets of your business. As a result, intellectual property within creative industries is just as important as physical products or services and can often be even one of the more valuable assets to own. Intellectual property rights provide the owner with exclusive rights over usage of things like: 

• logos;
• slogans;
• literary works;
• musical works; and
• product designs.

These are just a few examples of different things that you can protect through intellectual property rights. Notably, these rights give you the power to challenge other businesses in creative industries for using your intellectual property without your consent. This is an essential tool to possess for protecting your reputation and avoiding any financial losses.

Intellectual property also forms an integral part of your branding. When you consider household brand names, you often think of their logo, slogan, or the ethos behind their brand. These are just a small number of examples and can be seen through brands such as:

• Nike’s tick symbol;
• McDonald’s ‘M’ and slogan;
• Heinz tin colours and packaging design; and
• Apple’s logo and products.

In the same way as physical property, you can sell intellectual property. Therefore, it has financial value. Often, when other businesses buy companies, it is the intellectual property that is worth the most significant amount because this is where the brand’s value truly lies. Consequently, if you are a creative brand, you should commit to several intellectual property types that fit your business needs.

Copyright

The first type of intellectual property worth mentioning for creative businesses is copyright, as it is a type of intellectual property that is formed automatically upon the creation of a creative piece of work. This includes:

• dramatic works;
• literary and non-literary works;
• musical works;
• film recordings;
• Illustrations; and
• photography.

You can use the © symbol to mark your work in order to show others that copyright protects it. Therefore, outside parties cannot use it without your permission. Copyrighted works are not registered with the Intellectual Property Office, so you do not need to register to receive protection.

Design Rights

Design rights protect the visual appearance of your products and their design elements. You can register your design rights to maximise and receive immediate intellectual property protection over your designs. This enables you to use your legal rights to challenge any competitor that attempts to copy, manufacture, or sell your designs without consent.

You can choose to register part of your design or the entirety of it. Regardless, design rights can protect things such as:

• colours;
• shapes;
• configuration;
• lines;
• texture; and
• materials.

When you register your design right, you will initially receive exclusivity over the design for five years, which you can then renew for up to a maximum of 25 years.

Legal rights come with registration, which enables you to challenge anyone who attempts to infringe on your intellectual property rights. You can also choose to license your design rights to others. Doing this does not erase your ownership but instead allows third parties to use your designs in specific ways. It would be best if you drew this up in a detailed contract agreement.

Trade Marks

Trade marks take numerous forms and can range from:

• logos;
• symbols;
• words;
• phrases;
• colours; and
• sounds.

They are creative by nature, and to successfully register your trade mark with the Intellectual Property Office, you must demonstrate that your trade mark is distinctive and therefore unique. As a result, you should focus on developing a creative trade mark to distinguish your business and brand from competitors.

As a creative business, you will have a great deal of scope to register a trade mark for various elements of your business. The most obvious trade mark choice is usually a logo. While they can exist in an unregistered form, they receive less protection. Therefore, it is strongly advised to register any mark to obtain exclusive rights over your branding.

Key Takeaways

Creative businesses in England have several options for intellectual property. Intellectual property rights are important for your business because they facilitate your branding and also increase your advertising and marketing potential. Accordingly, intellectual property can vary in format. However, the main three types that could be relevant for creative businesses are copyright, design rights, and trade marks. 

If you need help or advice around registering your design rights or a trade mark, 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.

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