PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Why protect your Intellectual Property?

Protecting your intellectual property, is as important if not more, as any other part of your business, such as marketing or financial management or product development.

Intellectual property (IP) can actually be one of the most valuable assets of a business.

IP such as patents, trademarks, plans and code can take many years to develop, and represent a key source of commercial power and competitive advantage. So if you want to maximize the value of your company, taking care and protecting your Intellectual Property, is one of the most important ways to do it.

Here are just a few reasons why Intellectual Property is so valuable:

• IP sets your business apart from competitors. It's unique to you and other firms cannot easily copy it.
• It supports your marketing or branding.
• You can earn royalties from IP by licensing it to other firms.
• You can sell your IP if you decide you don't want to exploit it anymore.
• You can use your IP as security for loans.

How we can help you protect your intellectual property.

Developing an intellectual property strategy

Before you protect your IP, you need to understand it. Specifically, you need to assess the value of your intellectual property and how it helps you achieve your business objectives – now, and into the future.

Here's how we can help you develop an intellectual property strategy:

• Consider your intellectual property in the wider context of your business and its objectives, including overseas expansion
• Value your IP to determine the right level of protection for each type of IP you have (patents, trademarks, copyright, registered designs or trade secrets)
• Develop a plan to protect your IP rights in all relevant territories around the world, including the best jurisdiction(s) to file for IP protection
• Determine the most appropriate and cost-effective protection for your IP
• Estimate the cost of your strategy up front, so there are no surprises later on.

Trademark protection

Trademark protection is an important part of running a successful company.

Trademarks are a particularly important type of Intellectual Property, and likely to be the most valuable IP asset a business owns.

Your trademark is the public face of your business. It identifies your products and services to the market, and serves as the foundation for all your branding and marketing.

Trademarks can also be a vital support to overseas expansion. By licensing your trademark, you can develop your manufacturing footprint or sales network to other territories, while maintaining your established reputation for product and service quality.

We can help you at every stage of the trademark management process, from trademark registration and maintenance through to trademark licensing and enforcement.

With wide-ranging experience of IP law, we can help by:

• Explaining your trademark rights
• Advising you on whether your trademark should be registered, and how to register it
• Filing international trademark applications
• Drafting trademark licenses and franchise agreements
• Offering advice on trademark clauses in commercial agreements
• Helping you sell or transfer your trademarks
• Managing your portfolio of trademarks.

Patent Protection

Patents put legal protection on your most valuable ideas. Patent protection means that your invention cannot be commercially exploited by anyone without your consent. Before a product or invention is made public, it's important to safeguard it by filing patents in all the relevant jurisdictions.

Patents can help to:

• Increase your competitive advantage
• Boost your share of the market
• Generate new revenue streams from your ideas
• Help to prevent disagreements and litigation
• Make your business more attractive to partners and investors.

We can help you secure the most effective patent protection for your IP portfolio, by:

• Advising you on whether your IP can be patented, and whether a patent is the right way to go
• Carrying out a full search of existing patents, to ensure you don't infringe on them
• Apply for and file patents in all international jurisdictions
• Extend the terms of your existing patents
• Manage renewals on your behalf.

Trade secrets protection

Trade secrets can be among your most valuable assets, and it's vital to give your trade secrets robust legal protection.

Protection of trade secrets, requires no procedural formalities.

We can safeguard your trade secrets with a combination of non-disclosure, confidentiality and non-compete agreements, with your employees and also your business partners.

Copyright protection

Any original works created by your company qualify for copyright protection. The works protected can include text, images, diagrams, sound recordings and video. Website and software code also count as original works for the purpose of copyright.

As the owner of copyright, you have the right to reproduce, distribute and publicly display the work, and to create other works derived from it. You can also sell your work, share it online and rent it to others – or prevent others from doing these things.

We can advise you on all aspects of copyright law, including how the regulations in different jurisdictions affect your copyright protection.

Industrial design protection

If you develop your own products, you can protect them as industrial designs, so your competitors cannot copy or imitate them without permission.

Industrial design refers to the aesthetic aspects or outward appearance of your products, rather than their technical features. If technical features are unique, you may be able to protect them with patents (see above).

We can help you protect and register your industrial design and gain the exclusive rights to it, so you can prevent unauthorized copying or imitation by third parties.

Intellectual Property Licensing

Licensing your intellectual property to external partners can provide an attractive new revenue stream for your business.

Licensing may also provide a valuable way to get into new markets without having to set up your own production, distribution or sales operations.

We can help you draft your intellectual property licensing agreements according to your overall business objectives.

Intellectual property transactions

We can help you with all kinds of intellectual property transactions, such as purchase IP assets from third parties, or carry out due diligence in mergers and acquisitions where IP plays an important role.

Free Consultation

Protecting your intellectual property, should be at the forefront of safeguarding and developing your business. We can help with all aspects of your intellectual property protection, from developing an IP strategy to protecting trademarks, patents, trade secrets, copyrighted works and industrial designs. We can also help with out-licensing your IP and corporate transactions involving IP.

Let's talk! Fill in the form below and schedule your 30 minute free consultation with one of our IP lawyers, to discuss any questions about your intellectual property protection.