What is the difference between patents, designs and trade marks?

the difference between patents, designs and trade marks

Many potential clients come to us knowing that they need some form of intellectual property (IP) to protect their innovative products, designs or brand names/logos, but are often unsure about what type of IP they need..  There are three main types of registered intellectual property: patents, (registered) designs and (registered) trade marks, and they all do very different things to protect your business, and understanding the difference between patents designs and trade marks can be crucial.

Patents

Patents protect technical innovation.  So, if your new product or process has at least one novel technical feature compared with what has been done before, and that feature provides some sort of technical advantage, then a patent may be the best way to protect it and allow you to stop your competitors from doing the same. 

Be careful not to dismiss something new as not being inventive enough to be patented.  Often, a very small improvement can form the basis of a patent, so if it would be valuable to your business to be able to stop others from doing the same, then it is worth exploring with a Chartered Patent Attorney.

You must file a UK patent application before there is any non confidential disclosure of the invention.  So, if you need to talk to someone about your invention in the meantime (e.g. a product developer, potential investor, manufacturer, etc), then make sure you use an NDA.  Corresponding overseas applications can be filed up to 12 months after filing the UK application.

Registered Designs

Registered designs protect the outward appearance of a product, rather than its technical features.  If some effort has gone into the way something looks, and your business would benefit from being able to stop others from copying it, then registered designs may be the way to go.  We recommend filing an application for registration of a design in the UK before there is any non confidential disclosure of it, to make sure that you can validly file corresponding applications overseas by the end of six months later.

Registered Trade Marks

Registered trade marks protect brand names and logos – things that people recognize as denoting your business or products.  Registration of these trade marks will allow you to stop others from using the same or a similar mark for the same or similar goods/services.  We recommend that you consider registration of brand names, logos and strap lines if you want to stop others from using them, but we strongly recommend, as a first step, that you have a clearance search done by a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney before using or applying for registration of your own marks.

Need Help?

We hope you have found this summary useful.  If you need help to work out where your most valuable IP is, and how to protect it, or if you have any other IP questions, we are happy to offer a confidential initial consultation, which is free of charge and obligation.  Please book your free initial consultation by clicking the link below:

https://calendly.com/strachan-ip-a-fresh-view-of-intellectual-property/30min

or by calling 07714 797135 or emailing vicki.strachan@strachanip.co.uk

or you can contact us through our website: https://strachanip.co.uk/contact/

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