Your Business Magazine 2022 - 135

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without your permission. But you have to be able to demonstrate
that these assets belong to you, which is a specialist area with
its own rules, regulations, experts and advisers.
The good news is there are several ways to protect your IP,
making it easier for you to take legal action against anyone
who steals or copies it. As well as safeguarding what's yours,
IP rights allow you to make money from your creations. Some
types of protection are automatic, while others you have to
apply for - read on to fi nd out more.
Trade marks
Registering your trade mark protects your brand, meaning
you can: take legal action against anyone who uses your brand
without your permission; put the ® symbol next to your brand
to show that it's yours and warn others against using it; and sell
and license your brand. The registration process usually takes
about four to six months (if no one objects). Registered trade
marks last 10 years, and must then be renewed.
Copyright
Crucial for just about every company, copyright covers original
non-literary written work such as software, web content and
databases. For those working in the more creative fi elds, you
also get copyright protection automatically when you create
original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work such as
illustration, photography or recordings. Without the need to pay
a fee or register, copyright stops others from using your work
without your permission. You can mark your work with the
copyright symbol (©), your name and the year of creation, but
marking it doesn't aff ect the level of protection you have.
Design protection
You've hired a graphic artist to create your company's logo
and it's absolutely perfect, encapsulating the essence of your
enterprise. Fortunately, rights safeguard your unregistered
designs and stop others from using them. In fact, your design
will be given automatic protection - you don't have to apply or
pay a fee. But this automatic protection is time-limited to no
more than 15 years. If you want to protect your design for longer,
you can register it online for a fee of £50 at gov.uk. This gives
you the right to prevent others from using it for up to 25 years,
but you have to renew your registered design every fi ve years.
Patents
Have you invented something ground-breaking? Then get
a patent to protect it. A common mistake made by innovators
is to reveal their invention before applying for a patent, so keep
schtum when you have a light bulb moment. If you make your
invention public too soon, you could lose the possibility of being
granted a patent. The application process is pretty complex,
so this is where you may need the help of an IP adviser. But
avoid wasting time, eff ort and money by fi rst carrying out
a search through published patents and other documents
such as trade catalogues before applying. You need to be sure
your " novel " idea hasn't already been patented before you
submit your application.
Make your mark
A registered trade mark can protect
your business in several ways, explains
Sanjay Raphael, UK head of trade marks
at Pulse Law
" The sooner you protect your brand with a
trade mark, the better. If you've been trading
for a while, now is a good time to file a trade
mark; if you're just setting up your company,
obtaining one before incorporating may give
you certainty that you're not infringing someone
else's trade mark.
" Intellectual property (IP) can add value to a
business. It can be attractive for investors and
prevent others from copying the same or similar
elements. Protecting your IP can also be useful
for controlling how others use it, such as in
franchise or distribution/licence agreements.
" It's a common misconception that your
business name is protected by registering it
at Companies House. But a trade mark trumps
a registered company name or domain name.
However, it doesn't protect descriptive names,
such as SOAP for cleaning products. Therefore,
choosing and protecting a unique brand name
is the best option.
" At Pulse Law, we understand all these issue
can be confusing, so we offer free consultations
to SMEs and startups to help them understand
what they need. You can check if your business
name is available by carrying out a search on our
website, then book your appointment with us
online to see how we can help. "
135
" The law says
your intellectual
property belongs
to you, and you
can protect it from
theft or copying "
Intellectual property
http://www.gov.uk
Your Business Magazine 2022

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