INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW IN THE UK

09 October 2018

• Law blog
• Protection of intellectual property
• corporate and commercial law liverpool
• corporate and commercial solicitors liverpool
• corporate and commercial solicitors wirral
• Business law
• copyright
• design right
• Trade marks
• registered design
• patent
• copyright infringement
• intellectual property law
• corporate and commercial claims
• Business law blog

Intellectual property (IP) is an organisations ownership of a unique concept, which could come in the form of a new invention or product, branding or even a trademark name.

Small companies, in particular run the risk of competitors stealing their IP, resulting in loss of market share. Therefore, it is vital that organisations implement efficient measures to avoid duplication of their intellectual property.

The protection of intellectual property Is different for every business; however, all organisations should automatically obtain intellectual property rights to a certain extent. Although, an organisation may have to register their IP, depending on the type of intellectual property they have.

All organisations should conduct an IP audit in order to understand what needs protecting within the business and allow an understanding of the value of IP assets.

There are numerous intellectual property laws that are automatically in place for organisations within the UK, including:

Copyright

This law protects the following: art, photography, films, TV, music, sound recordings, web content, writing, and literary works.

Organisations do not have to register, as they are immediately protected once the content is released.

It is also vital that organisations understand that it is unlawful to infringe on another organisations copyright.

Design right

This is another form of automatic protection which safeguards the shape and configuration of objects created by an organisation. The protection lasts for 15 years after the design is created and 10 years after it has been sold on.

The above laws may be efficient for some organisations, however smaller business with their intellectual property as their unique selling point must implement further measures to fully protect their ideas and concepts. This involves registering their concepts in accordance with the following laws:

Trade marks

An organisation can register a unique trade mark, as long as it is not misleading and is clearly distinctive to the specific brand. A trade mark can protect a variety of concepts including: images, slogans, words, etc.

Registered designs

Organisations can protect their products by registering their product design, as long as it is a new concept. The protection covers the appearance, physical shape, configuration and decoration of the design, and allows more efficient handling on dealing with infringement matters legally.

Patents

This protection is for any organisation who has created an invention, which can be made or used. In order to obtain a patent, the invention must be entirely new and not a modification of an existing invention. As patents are expensive and can be complicated, the government suggests that an organisation should seek legal advice before continuing with the application process.

Organisations should consider a multitude of protection for their intellectual property, in order to maintain the highest level of protection possible.

It is also vital for organisations to understand the implications of breaching another organisation’s intellectual property without their permission.

Therefore, all organisations should research and understand whether their concept is completely unique before any legal registrations take place.

Organisations can also purchase or license the intellectual property of others, as well as selling or licensing their own. This can be achieved as long as it has been agreed legally, usually in the form of a contract.