Registered IP rights are just like more traditional insurance products: you hope you are never in a situation whereby you need to use it. But if you do, financial (and other) recompense can be claimed. But, unlike traditional insurance products, registered IP rights offer much more value than merely as a means of recompense. So why should you insure your USPs with registered IP?
Protecting your investment
If you have put a lot of time and money into the technical elements of your commercial offering, or its appearance, or your branding. In other words, if you have made an investment into your USPs, then it makes sense to “insure” this investment by way of patents, registered designs and registered trade marks; so that, if the worst happens, and a competitor copies a key part of your commercial offering, you can defend your IP through the courts so you can stop them and claim damages. In some businesses, this could mean the difference between success and failure. See https://www.gov.uk/defend-your-intellectual-property for more detail.
Yes, registered IP costs money, but then so do your other insurances, and you wouldn’t dream of not insuring your home or your car, even though it involves a (not insignificant) sum of money leaving your account on a regular basis. Registered IP can be thought of in much the same way.
Added Value
However, unlike traditional insurance products, with registered IP, there are a few additional benefits. Firstly, registered IP is a business asset and adds value to your company.
Deterrent Effect
Also, there is the deterrent effect: a burglar wouldn’t avoid burgling your house just because you have home insurance, but your competitors may be deterred from infringing your IP rights. So, although you can’t prove a negative (and you may never know how many would-be competitors have been deterred from copying your USP because of your registered IP rights), registered IP has been repeatedly proven to act as a genuine deterrent to all but the least scrupulous of copycats.
So, if you want to “insure” your USP, add value to your company and deter your competitors from copying you, consider registered IP protection.
Can we help?
If you need any IP advice, please do book a free initial consultation with us, by emailing vicki.strachan@strachanip.co.uk or visit our website at: https://strachanip.co.uk/contact/
