{"id":22362,"date":"2022-01-13T16:13:43","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T16:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/?p=22362"},"modified":"2023-02-07T15:09:48","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T15:09:48","slug":"how-to-protect-your-intellectual-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-intellectual-property","title":{"rendered":"5 tips to protect your intellectual property"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Copyright<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Your business’s confidential information and intellectual property (IP) are crucial assets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, if you don’t protect them, someone can steal your ideas, branding or business information. That can damage your business’s reputation and goodwill, relationships with customers, suppliers and staff, and future sales revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don’t have proper safeguards in place to protect your IP and confidential information, potential investors or buyers may be wary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That makes it very much in your interest to check you’re doing everything you can to protect your business’s reputation and future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we asked our friends at Sparqa Legal<\/a> what advice they\u2019d give to help. Here’s their five top tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Consider registering your intellectual property<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can register certain types of intellectual property, including trademarks, designs and patents. This gives you more protection and helps notify others of the IP assets that are yours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trademark registration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Use a trademark registration<\/a> to stop others from copying your branding (e.g. your business name, logo, slogans, sounds and more). Your registration will last for 10 years and can be renewed as often as you like (if you’re still using the trademark). You can apply online through the UK Intellectual Property Office<\/a>. And you’ll need to decide which categories of goods and services you want your trademark to cover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Design registration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can also register designs<\/a> that protect your products’ look and shape. This means no one else will be able to make, import, export, sell or use your design or idea without your permission. It also gives you more rights than relying on unregistered design rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if you work in a fast-moving industry like fashion, you might need to rely on unregistered design rights. That’s because it’s not always practical to register your designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Patents <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Patents<\/a> protect inventions that meet specific criteria. And they give you exclusive rights to use your invention for up to 20 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applying for a patent can be costly and complex, so it’s worth asking a patent attorney or other professional to help. Some businesses prefer to rely on trade secrets<\/a> to protect their inventions and avoid the 20-year limit that patent protection has. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to rely on trade secrets, make sure you have tight security and confidentiality agreements in place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Use an NDA to protect your confidential information <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA)<\/a> is a legal agreement that prevents the misuse of confidential or sensitive information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using an NDA means the person or company you’re working with has to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n