Protecting your innovation - we make IP simple

You’ve identified a problem with, or an improvement to, a consumer product used by millions. You’ve developed your idea into a viable new product – a process ha is rarely simple and never without significant cost, both financial and effort. You’re pretty confident that, once people see it, your product will be popular. And popular products are, inevitably, vulnerable to being copied, often by established companies that, with their economies of scale, can often produce a very similar product to yours much more cheaply than you, and undercut you, eating into your market share before you’ve had much of an opportunity to get a foothold in the market.

We make IP simple

Being able to stop competitors from copying your great ideas is what intellectual property (IP) rights are for. So, how do they work, and which are which? In our guide below, we make IP simple, so you can decide if you think it could help your business.

Patents

Patents protect the novel underlying technical concept that will make your customers want to buy your new product rather than similar existing products on the market. Does your product work better, faster, cleaner, etc? Then a patent could protect the features that create these improved results.

Designs

Registered designs protect the outward appearance of a product. So, if you’ve put a lot of effort into the way your new product looks, and that is how your customers will recognise it on the shelves or online (and/or that is why they might choose it over similar, existing products, then a registered design can protect it.

Trade Marks

Registered trade marks protect the elements of your branding by which customers will recognise your product. Traditionally, these would include names and logos, but here are other things that can be worth protecting. In a world where our buying behaviour and consumer decision-making are becoming increasingly visual, registering the instantly-recognisable elements of your consumer product, to stop your competitors from confusing your potential customers with the same or very similar branding, can be invaluable.

Think before you launch!

How are you going to stop others from copying your new product? IP rights give you the right to stop your competitors from taking advantage of your insight, innovation and hard work, and ‘riding on your coattails’, so to speak. If you are developing a new and improved consumer product, have a chat with us before launching it into an already overcrowded market to see if we can help you to preserve your competitive advantage and stay ahead of the would-be copycats.

And, if you need to speak to anyone about your invention before you’re ready to apply for registered IP, always use an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement), and you can find more information and some simple templates here.