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As a business owner you should consider the benefits of registering your intellectual property (IP), as it is an important business asset you must protect. If you fail to protect your IP rights adequately, competitors could copy or use your property without consent and you could have no legal recourse to challenge them. In this article, we will discuss the importance of registering your intellectual property in England.
Protecting Your IP Rights
IP rights are intangible assets of your business and can take many forms including trade marks and design rights. Both forms exist strongest when you register them with the Intellectual Property Office. Design rights protect the aesthetic appearance of a product.
If a competitor was to copy your registered trade mark or use something highly similar, it is important for your business to be able to take legal action, which is guaranteed when your mark is registered with the Intellectual Property Office.
Greater Protection Through Registration vs Unregistered Rights
Design rights and trade marks can both exist in unregistered forms. However, they are harder to protect if another business attempts to infringe your intellectual property. If a competitor attempted to copy your design and you held only unregistered rights, you would need to prove the design is owned by your business. Often, this proves difficult to do. In contrast, once you obtain registered designs, you gain exclusive rights to protect your business’ products.
If a competitor uses your trade mark without consent or a mark highly similar to yours within your area of trade, it can be difficult to challenge them. However, it can be easier to challenge them if you build your brand’s goodwill and a strong reputation with your trade mark.
Your brands reputation develops and grows over time. Therefore, this can be difficult for new businesses to demonstrate. You will also have to show the competitor has misrepresented themselves and that this misrepresentation has resulted in damage to your business. In contrast, if you register your trade mark, you will have instant recourse to legal action as soon as you have registered your mark. Registration is available to any business regardless of how old it is. Therefore, it is a highly effective way of protecting your trade mark from the outset.
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Expanding Into New Jurisdictions Internationally
Once you register your design rights or trade mark in England, you may wish to expand on and protect your IP internationally. If you wish to protect your design rights internationally, you can apply for a Registered Community Design which covers the entirety of the European Union. You can also use the Hague System to simultaneously apply to a range of countries by using just one application to the World Intellectual Property Office. If you have already registered your design rights in England, you may be able to claim priority for international registration.
To register a trade mark on an international basis, the most popular method is through the Madrid Protocol. This protocol allows business’ to submit one application to register your mark in a large number of countries simultaneously. You will only be able to apply for international registration through the Madrid Protocol if you have successfully registered your trade mark in England as the application is based on the original registration. Therefore, registration in England is crucial in order to secure international protection for your trade mark.
Key Takeaways
There are many benefits of registering your intellectual property rights in England. For instance, registering your trade mark can provide you with exclusive rights that protect against competitors who may attempt to copy or use your designs without consent. In contrast to holding unregistered design rights or trade marks, provides you with the right to take legal action against any business who attempts to infringe your rights. It makes the process much more efficient and provides your business with greater protection over your assets.
Further, if you obtain registration in England, this can create an important foundation for international registration of either design rights or trade marks. Trade mark protection is best obtained when you have the exclusive right over usage and therefore IP protection is best obtained through registration.
If you need help or advice around registering a trade mark or design rights, 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
You should apply to register your intellectual property with the Intellectual Property Office, particularly design rights and trade marks. This will offer you the greatest protection against competitors who attempt to infringe your IP rights.
The creator or the person who registers the intellectual property generally owns it. In the case of employee and employer relationships, it is important to outline ownership of any intellectual property within the employment contract. You should seek legal advice on this as it can be a difficult area to understand.
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