Start-ups are innovative businesses that are gradually joining the market and are beginning to expand their operations from one consumer target to another. The consumer demand tends to expand on the basis of the innovative product or service provided by the business to its customers. It also depends on how they provide it to them within a reasonable timeline coupled with guaranteed consistency. As the business expands, so will their name that brings value in the market by being affiliated with the business name. It is the long road from becoming an up and coming business on the street to a respected brand known by the whole industry.
Even the smallest of start-ups have Intellectual Property (IP) worth protecting. From your business name to the innovative design of your product, you will have assets that set you apart from other businesses in the market. The importance of these IP assets will only grow as your business matures, so it is important to get things right from the start.
What is Intellectual Property (IP)?
Intellectual Property refers to tangible expressions of concepts and ideas, inventions, original names, and items that you have developed in relation to your business. There are several different types of IP and we have categorized these assets for you to let you see them in a different light, so make sure you consider each one when developing your IP strategy.
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Copyright
This is the most overarching and simple form of Intellectual Property protection which bestows upon the owner of a work a number of rights and legal benefits that can prevent the unauthorized usage or exploitation of their works. It is important to point out that the legal owner of the work is not always its creator; such as in cases where the copyright has been sold to a second party.
Copyright protects the expression of original literary or artistic work, such as novels, songs, and newsprint. In case of disputes, originality will ultimately be decided by the courts.
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Trademarks
A trademark is a distinctive sign which is used to identify services/goods provided by a person or company. More specifically the kinds of things that can become registered trademarks include words, phrases, numbers, logos, designs, 3D shapes (such as brand-specific packaging). The idea is that a person or company can express the quality, history, individuality of their work under a legally registered mark which sets their work apart from competitors and prevents others from misusing their success.
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Registered Designs
Registered Designs protect the overall visual appearance of a product or a part of a product. For its registration to be valid, a design must be new and have individual character. As with Copyright, the presence or absence of individual character will be judged by the courts in the case of infringement disputes.
Traditionally original designs for products (from fabric designs, kettles, shower trays to agricultural machinery) can be protected as registered designs (which are also monopoly rights).
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Patents
Patents are considered the gold standard of IP protection and can be sought as a way of ring fencing a process or product that introduces a new/innovative way of doing something. It is one of the most effective ways of encouraging constant innovation and improvement of products, processes, and services by ensuring that innovators are given credit for the work that they do.