Intellectual Property – what and why
Helping our clients understand Intellectual Property is important to us. It means our clients appreciate the what, why and wherefore of each decision they make on their IP.
Intellectual Property encompasses:
- patents
- trade marks
- copyright
- designs
- domain names
- database rights
- data exclusivity
- plant breeders’ rights
Some intellectual property rights are obtained through a statutory registration process which provides an absolute right to stop others from using and copying your registered IP. Statutory IP rights are also capital assets against which money can be raised, just as a house can be used to obtain a mortgage.
Other IP rights are bestowed automatically under common law. While these rights cost nothing to acquire, they are more nebulous and so are harder to enforce and define as capital assets.
While IP is ideally captured actively through statutory registration, for some clients, devising a portfolio based on common law rights is a better option. Through working intimately with you we are able to understand your business drivers, aims and aspirations as well as those of your competitors and so are able to provide tailored IP advice and guidance based on the most appropriate, cost-effective solution(s).
Why worry or do anything about IP?
If you are not aware of what rights you have, it is far harder to make those rights work for you and add significant value to your business. Equally, knowing what rights your competitors have enables you to define commercial strategies to work around and step ahead of your competition. Knowledge really is power. However, rather than you worrying about IP, let us help.