Protect your intellectual property
Protecting your intellectual property makes it easier to take legal action against anyone who steals or copies it.
Types of protection
The type of protection you can get depends on what you've created. You get some types of protection automatically, others you have to apply for.
| Type of protection | Examples of intellectual property |
|---|---|
| Copyright | Writing and literary works, art, photography, films, TV, music, sound recordings, source code, website content - blogs, articles |
| Unregistered trade marks | Limited protection to names (company, product, service) and logos which have not been officially registered. The ™ symbol represents an unregistered trade mark. |
| Design right | The shape and design of objects |
| Database rights | The contents of a database which has taken substantial time to create, verify and manage |
| Type of protection | Examples of intellectual property | Time to allow for application |
|---|---|---|
| Registered trade marks | Company, product and service names, logos, jingles. The ® symbol represents a registered trade mark. | 4 months |
| Registered designs | Appearance of a product including shape, packaging, patterns, colours, decoration | 1 month |
| Patents | Inventions and products, e.g. machines and machine parts, tools, medicines | 2-5 years |
Other people's intellectual property
Just because you have created a product name or an invention does not mean that someone else has not thought of it first.
Do thorough searches to review what similar brands or inventions already exist, to ensure what you have developed does not infringe someone else's intellectual property. You can search for existing trademarks on GOV.UK. You can search global patents using Espacenet. IP searches can be complex, so ask for support from a qualified professional if you need to.
Also consider searching or registering other assets such as:
- your company's name with Companies House
- registering domain names and social media channels in the UK, EU, worldwide
Always get legal advice from a specialist when considering intellectual property.
Trade secrets
Sometimes it's not possible or useful to protect your intellectual property formally. For example, let’s say you develop a new process that has value but does not need to be made public. In this case, you can protect it as a trade secret. If you then need to discuss your idea with someone, protect it by using a non-disclosure agreement.
Using more than one type of IP protection
More than one type of IP protection can be linked to a single product. For example, you can:
- register the name and logo as a trade mark
- protect a product's unique shape as a registered design
- patent a completely new working part
- use copyright to protect drawings of the product