Monday, 26 Apr 2010
World Intellectual Property Day
Today is the tenth annual World IP Day. One of the aims of this day is to increase understanding of how protecting IP rights helps promote creativity and innovation. Many businesses do not appreciate how useful IP is in their industry and can often lose out if they do not identify the uses their business can make from it.
What is IP?
Intellectual property (“IP”) is the term used to refer to inventions, artistic works, designs, names, logos, literary works, etc. which are given legal protection under copyright, patents, trade marks and other rights.
Who is it useful for?
Every business will have some use for IP. For some businesses, this use will be greater than others. One business may be built around a particular invention which will be the subject of a patent. Another may have no unique technology, but will have its reputation as its principle asset – it might use a trade mark to protect that name. Creative industries use copyright in their music, books, films and art. Web designers and software developers use copyright to protect their work. The list goes on and on.
Why does it exist?
IP is designed to encourage people to do creative and innovative things. If an inventor spends time and effort inventing a new piece of technology, he can seek the protection of a patent. This will give him the exclusive right to make and sell his invention and prevent others from making and selling it. This potential exclusive right can help attract funding for the inventor’s work. If anyone could simply copy it as soon as it goes to market, funders, as well as the inventor himself, would be discouraged from putting in the effort.
Trade marks have a slightly different purpose, but essentially give you the security to be able to build up your reputation in a name, logo or other brand knowing that you have the right to prevent others from copying that brand and benefiting from your hard work and goodwill.
How is it used?
Some protection exists automatically, such as copyright. However, others need to be registered, such as patents and trade marks. It’s important to manage your IP as you go along to make sure you don’t lose your protection.
Businesses can benefit from IP in many ways and not just by enforcing their rights against infringers. IP rights can be licensed out to others (maybe in a country that the business doesn’t currently trade), they can be sold to others (sometimes for hug sums of money) and they can be used for new business models (such as franchises). There are many other innovative uses as well.
To help World IP Day achieve its aims in promoting the understanding of IP, it’s important to recognise that IP is not something that only large, multi-national corporations benefit from. Small businesses can and do benefit from it as well.
If you would like to find out what IP can do for your business or would like any other advice in relation to the issues above, please contact Alison Marshall.