…and why could it be so important to your business?
The official definition
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (or “WIPO” as it’s affectionately known) defines Intellectual Property (IP) as “creations of the mind; inventions; literary or artistic works; and names, symbols and images used in commerce. But, as a patent attorney (and, by trade, a pedant), I challenge that definition. IP certainly arises as a result of these things, but it is (and arises from) so much more than that.
The reality
The easiest way for me to describe intellectual property is that it is a set of legal rights and provisions that act to allow their owner to prevent others from copying their innovative or creative endeavours (or even, in the case of registered IP, innocently doing the same thing). And this is why it can be so hugely valuable to your own business…but only if you know it’s there and what you need to do to capture, preserve and protect it.
And your intellectual property can not only be used to give you a monopoly on your USP, and help to keep your competitors out of your particular space, specialism or niche, but it is also a valuable business asset that, if carefully captured and preserved, can add significant value to your business.
Trying to encompass all of that in a single-sentence definition is impossible, because the definition of intellectual property can essentially differ, depending on your particular business, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ definition or strategy. That is because your IP, and its value, is directly linked to the element of your business it protects and the importance of that element to your revenue stream, business goals and aspirations. Essentially, it should be as unique as your business….
Registered IP
Registered IP covers the intellectual property rights that can only be obtained by some form of registration process.
Patents
Patents protect technical innovation. This does not need to be an enormous scientific breakthrough. In fact, taking terminology directly from the case law on the subject of inventiveness, a “scintilla” of inventiveness can be sufficient for an invention to be patentable, and part of the invention can even lie in the identification of the problem it purports to solve, even if the solution could then be said to be “obvious”. So, it is important not to dismiss something as “obvious” and, therefore, not patentable, before this has been properly assessed. If your product or process has at least one novel technical feature, and that technical novelty is important in some way to your USP, then it is worth exploring whether or not patent protection would be the best way to protect it.
Registered Designs
Registered designs protect the appearance of a product. If there is something distinctive about the outward appearance of your product, or if a lot of design effort has gone into the way something looks, then registered design protection may be appropriate.
Registered trade marks
Registered trade marks protect your “badge of origin”, i.e. the names and logos you use to identify your company, brand and business offering(s). These can be incredibly important because if someone else uses the same names or logos to identify their products, then it might not only put a dent in your own revenue stream, but if the competitor’s business offering is inferior to yours, it could also damage your reputation.
Unregistered IP rights
Unregistered IP usually arises automatically, in that there is no formal registration procedure, but that doesn’t necessarily make this type of right any less valuable. The main difference, compared with registered IP, is that you would usually have to prove that a third party had actually copied something you created, or that they have unlawfully obtained and/or made unauthorised use of something that is yours.
Copyright
Copyright is probably the best known of these types of right, and covers all original literary, artistic or musical works. Whilst the right is predominantly associated with things like books, paintings, films and pieces of music or songs, it covers a lot more than that, Software code, for example, is protected by copyright (almost like a “literary work”), your web pages, your written, audio or visual resources, your manuals and user instructions, any original pictures, photographs or logos. These are all potentially protected by copyright.
Then there are database rights, which are an extension of the copyright provisions, and protect any databases you create (think about your customer list or CRM system for example).
Unregistered design rights
Unregistered design rights protect against copying the shape and configuration of your products. Less well known are semiconductor topography rights, which are an extension of the unregistered design right provisions, and protect the specific configuration of components on an IC.
Others
We often include things like know-how, trade secrets and confidential commercial information in here because they are not strictly IP rights, but operate in much the same way and to much the same purpose, and can be equally valuable, so they slot nicely into any complete IP strategy.
And, finally, have you thought about things like goodwill and reputation? Again, not strictly IP rights, but often very important intangible assets that it is wise to consider under this banner. Having a registered trade mark for your brand name, for example, is all very well, but the goodwill associated with that brand name is likely to grow in value and importance over time, and essentially dictates the value of the registered trade mark, but can also give rise to legal rights in its own right.
Where there’s a USP there is (almost) always IP
So, there is a wide range of legal rights and provisions that fall under the banner of “Intellectual Property”, but why is it so important? And how do you know what type of IP rights you have and how they correlate with your business goals and aspirations. Most importantly, which ones will protect your market share and add the most value to your business? Where do you need to focus your attention?
A good starting point is to ask yourself three questions (which all amount to much the same thing):
- What is it that sets your business apart from your competitors? It is very rarely (just) price, and even if price is a big element, the next question would be how or why can you provide your business offering at a lower price than your competitors?
- Why do (or will) customers come to your business, and not your competitors? Again, it is rarely just price.
- What elements of your business, if copied, could or would cause the most damage (either to your brand or your revenue stream, or both)?
- So, in essence, WHAT IS/ARE YOUR USP(S)?
Need Help?
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/
