A thought For Intellectual Property

Intellectual property rights are often overlooked, with businesses often missing out on many potential benefits of trade marks, copyright and the like by not thinking about them until it is too late. Ben Clay, senior associate at Lupton Fawcett’s intellectual property department sets out ten tips to keep in mind to protect rights and avoid costly mistakes.

Ben Clay

1. Own what you pay for. If you commission an external agency to create materials for you, such as website content or photos for marketing, they will be the legal owner of the copyright unless you both agree otherwise so be sure to have a written contract giving you the rights you have paid for.
2. Make sure it is your business which owns registered rights. Whether it is the external agency which arranged your domain name or a director registering something in his or her personal name rather than the company’s, you could face costly problems further down the line in many ways.
3. Look before you leap. When launching a new brand, check first that nobody is already using it or you may well end up wasting a lot of time, effort and money.
4. Register your trade marks. Not only do you get enhanced protection for your branding, but you reap indirect benefits of demonstrating to customers that your brand is substantial and well run plus you have something to show to potential investors.
5. Register other rights too. Not all intellectual property rights need to be registered to exist, but registering designs and patents can give your business effective monopolies and consequently a massive advantage in the marketplace.
6. If you do have something capable of being patented, do not make it public before applying for the patent or you will have scuppered your own application.
7. Use confidentiality agreements. Businesses will need to divulge confidential information from time to time, but keep control of where that information can then be used otherwise you may find your competitors benefitting from it.
8. Enforce your rights. Give your business the competitive edge it is entitled to by using its intellectual property rights to protect what it has created and stop others taking unfair advantage.
9. Don’t tread on anybody else’s toes. Just as important as maximising the benefits of intellectual property rights is avoiding the damage which comes with infringing somebody else’s rights. Don’t “borrow” a photo for your website without permission, don’t try to make people think you are another business, and don’t copy the design of somebody else’s fancy new product.
10. Ask a lawyer. A little advice from somebody who knows the playing field can go a long way to maximising your rights and avoiding mistakes which come back to haunt you in future. Just as usefully, lawyers can help you tread fine lines to avoid infringing the rights of others, such as by explaining how to run a comparative advertising campaign safely.

For further help or advice, contact Ben Clay, who on 0113 280 2039 or ben.clay@luptonfawcett.law.