How To Protect Your Intellectual Property

If you have ever helped to formulate a new business idea or worked on creating a new product, then you may have wondered whether there is a way for you to legally protect your work. It can be a rather confusing issue and many small business owners aren’t aware of how, why or when they can protect their product, or if it is even necessary to do so.

Intellectual property can consist of many different areas, ranging from corporate identity to a business logo. If these ideas are used without you giving permission to do so, then your business can suffer. A large majority of businesses have benefited from the internet, and now marketing communications and products are able to reach large audiences for a lower cost, all whilst increasing the amount of intellectual property theft. Companies, both big and small, are at risk of having their ideas, services and products taken without any type of consent, which makes the protection of intellectual property more important than ever before.

Keep Your Ideas Safe

Whenever you come up with a great new business idea for a new product or potential service, then there will always be someone who will want to copy your idea and sell them on as their own. Depending on the individual circumstance, you may be able to use copyrights, trademarks or patents to protect your property.

Protect Your Business Growth

If you are a small business, then it is important to protect your unique services and products. Competitors can, and often will, use your success as a way to take away market share, which can then result in slow growth or a loss of revenue. Losing any amount of market share in the early stages of a business’s development can have disastrous consequences for your growth. It can then be extremely time-consuming to then attempt to chase the party who is at fault if you don’t have any legal protection.

It Is Much Easier Than You Think

In the early days it can seem like a rather time-consuming and daunting task, but protecting your intellectual property isn’t as difficult as you think, and is worth it in the long run. Even though you can’t protect an idea itself, you are able to protect the way that you put the idea into motion - this is what you should protect.

Copyright protection is free and automatic and requires no registration. Copyright is unable to protect an idea itself, but it is able to protect the way the idea has been represented, for example, through websites, flyers, brochures etc. Patents can be applied for via the UK Property Office, either by yourself or with the help of a patent lawyer.

When looking to protect any intellectual property, it’s best to seek help and advice from corporate solicitors who will be able to assist you with your unique and individual case.