Helping create a patchwork of rights to protect your business

Intellectual Property Rights is a complex area of law. We hope that the answers below might help to clarify any questions you may have but if not send us an email or click here to book a free initial consultation.

Intellectual Property refers to many of the things that build the heart of a creative business. Designs, art, sculpture, images, symbols, brand names and inventions are all “creations of the mind” and as such, intellectual property.  Intellectual Property Rights are the legal tools available to protect these creations and thus the business as a whole. In the UK, Intellectual Property Rights can come in the form of trade marks, design rights, copyright, and patents, to name a few and the best IP strategies will consist of many and avoid an over reliance on one.

The intricacies of these different protections are complex but put simply the differences are broadly this: 

Registered Trade Marks protect brand names, product names and logos.

Registered Design Rights protect the overall appearance of a design.
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Copyright protects literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works. 

Patents protect inventions.

Trade mark registrations are essential at any point of a business for protecting brand signifiers. A trade mark is a “badge of origin”. Logos, brand names, product names and slogans are all trade marks and need to be registered to secure their ownership. Without a registration in place the ownership of the trade mark and the ability to trade under it are vulnerable. Further without a registered trade mark it is hard to stop a third party from using your trade marks.

Registered design rights are strong intellectual property rights that can be obtained relatively quickly and inexpensively and form a powerful part of any IP strategy. They protect the essence and individuality of a design whatever it may be. In the past we have protected pottery, lights, furniture, fabric prints, candles, toys, product packaging and even Christmas crackers! Designs are often the cornerstones to a creative business’ success. It is, therefore, vital that they be well represented in registration applications to ensure the maximum scope of protection.

Yes. A design application can only be made for designs which have been in the public domain for less than 12 months at the point of filing.

In some instances, and to a certain extent. Copyright protects exact or substantial copies being made of any literary, musical, dramatic or artistic works for 70 years from the death of the author. This requires accurate dating of your works and proof that they were created first if an infringement occurs. A registered design right on the other hand, securely protects the overall impression of any 2D or 3D design for 25 years from the point of registration. This means you are protected against other companies creating designs that have the same overall appearance as yours even if they do not contain exact copies of any specific aspect.