Regardless of what product your business makes or service it provides, it is likely that you are using and creating intellectual property (IP). Almost every business will have a trade name or a trade mark and should consider protecting it. Many will also have valuable confidential business information that they may wish to protect, while others may have developed creative original designs or invented a new process.
Everything from a tube of toothpaste to the latest MP3 player will have intellectual property that should be protected. The chemical formula or technical parts can be protected by patents; the shape or appearance by registered design; the brand name by trade marks; and any artwork or music by copyright.

IP can assist you in almost every aspect of your business development and competitive strategy, from product development to marketing. It may also be an important factor when considering exporting or expanding your business abroad.

"What is worth copying is worth protecting," so spoke the judge in a copyright dispute in 1916, and his words are just as valid today. It is a plain fact of modern business life that if your intellectual property gets you marketshare, then your competitors are going to want to copy it. The following outlines the four main ways of protecting your IP and how to go about it:

Trade marks
Trade marks are in many ways the face of your business; they allow customers to distinguish your products and services from those of your competitors. They are often the single most valuable marketing tool a company will have, whatever its size. Registration of the mark gives an immediate right to stop someone else using the same, or similar, mark on their similar goods and services.

It costs £200 to apply to register a trade mark in the UK. This will cover one mark in one class (type) of goods or service. There is an additional fee of £50 for each extra class. The registration of your trade mark can last forever if you renew it every 10 years on the anniversary of the date of your application.

There are three routes to secure protection overseas: a series of individual trade mark applications, filed in each country; an application to the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) for a European Community trade mark registration; or an application to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva.

Patents
When it comes to novel products and processes, patent protection is what is required. You could rely on keeping information confidential to protect your product but without a patent you would lack the right to stop others from making, selling or importing the product or process you have developed.

Patents cover such diverse subjects as agriculture, medicines, games, paints, electronics and photography: anything in fact from a small detail in an electric switch to a new form of transport such as the first hovercraft.

You do not have to make a huge inventive leap to obtain a patent. Minor technical solutions can be protected and if you are breaking frontiers in your industry you should definitely consider applying. If you renew each year, it can give you exclusivity for up to 20 years on innovations that are industrially applicable. Currently the fees for processing a UK patent are £200, although that does not include any patent attorney costs.
Holding a patent can help financially, too. A granted patent becomes property like any other, so as well as raising your standing with investors you can sell or license it out in exchange for royalties.

If your patent is granted in the UK you will have rights in the UK only. However, if you want protection in other countries you can apply for a patent in that particular country or through the European Patent Convention or the Patent Co-operation Treaty.
One very important point to remember is that you must not have publicly revealed your invention before you apply for a patent. You must keep your idea secret otherwise it may put your chances of being granted a patent at risk.

Designs
The outward shape and appearance of products of all kinds can be protected by either a design right or a registered design. The appearance of this outward aspect may be crucial to the market success or failure of a product, whatever its other attributes. Design right is an automatic right without the need for registration, although a registered design right will offer stronger protection.

For £60, you can apply to register your design which will give you design protection for five years, after which you can apply to renew your design every five years, up to a maximum of 25 years.

As with trade marks, you can apply to OHIM for a community design and WIPO for international protection. A registered design can be bought, sold or licensed like any other business commodity.

Copyright
Copyright in some form is owned by most businesses. Although they may not be directly involved in making money from their copyright, businesses print brochures, publish adverts and own websites that contain copyright-protected materials. There is no registration system for copyright in this country; it comes into operation automatically on creation of material.

Don't be fooled into thinking that copyright is just for artists, writers and musicians. You can use it to protect any original material in your presentations, catalogues, adverts and websites. For these types of business document, copyright lasts for the lifetime of the employee who created them plus 70 years, although it is usually the company that owns the rights.

Copyright is an automatic right that you do not need to formally apply or pay for. It arises as soon as the work is "fixed", such as written down, recorded or stored in a computer memory. You can use the © symbol followed by your name and the date to indicate when it was created and by who.

A dated copy of the work can be deposited with a solicitor or bank to establish beyond doubt when you created your work and this can be important if someone copies your work without permission. As the owner of the copyright you have the right to license it or sell the copyright to someone else.

Enforcing IP
In all cases, IP gives legal recognition to the ownership of new ideas or new brands and gives proprietors the right to stop other people exploiting their property.
Your IP is one of your most valuable business assets. It can help to increase your firm's competitiveness, contribute to your future success and allow you to make the most of its value. Enforcing IP rights is often the only way to ensure that your creativity is not exploited by someone else.

If you notice anyone infringing your rights, first consider writing them a warning letter. That often works. If not, you might need to consider court proceedings but rather than pursuing costly legal actions it is usually better to reach a negotiated solution; for example, think about asking for a licensing fee. You could end up receiving royalties for years to come.

The UK Intellectual Property Office is the government agency responsible for granting patents, registered designs and registered trade marks within the UK. For more information call 08459 500 505 or visit www.ipo.gov.uk [1]