What is intellectual property?

 

The right type of intellectual property protection helps you to stop people stealing or copying:

 

• The names of your products or brands

• Your inventions

• The design or look of your products

• Things you write, make or produce

 

Designs, Trademarks, Patents and Copyright are all types of intellectual property protection. Some types of protection happen automatically, while others you will have to apply for.

 

Procedure:

 

What can be considered as intellectual property?

 

Owning intellectual property:

 

1. You own an intellectual property if it is your original invention and it meets the requirements for copyright, a patent or a design).

2. You can also buy intellectual property rights from the creator or its previous owner.

 

1. Have a brand that could be a trade mark, such as a well-known product name.

 

Intellectual property can have more than one owner, can belong to people or businesses and can be sold or transferred. It allows you to make money from the intellectual property you own.

 

Intellectual property if you are self-employed:

 

You own the intellectual property even if your was commissioned by someone else – unless your contract with them gives them the rights.

 

However, you usually will not own the intellectual property for something you created as part of your work while you were employed by someone else.

 

Protect your intellectual property:

 

Protecting your intellectual property makes it easier to take legal action against anyone who plagiarises it, copies it or steals it.

 

Here is a list of different types of protection depending on what you have created/invented:

 

• Registering a trademark covers the product’s names, logos, and jingles. It will take up to 4 months for application.

• Registering a design covers the appearance of the product, its shape, its packaging, patterns, decorations, and design. This will take up to 3 weeks for application.

• Copyrighting your work includes covering your writing and literary works, art, photography, films, TV, music, web content. There is no application needed for this protection.

• Patenting an invention: this includes inventions and products. An example of this is inventions and products, for examples machines, medicines. Time to allow for application will be around 5 years.

 

You get limited automatic protection over some intellectual property, for example design right. However, it’s easier to prove you own intellectual property legally if it is registered.

 

It is advisable to keep your intellectual property a secret until it is registered. If you need to discuss your idea with someone, make sure to use a non-disclosure agreement.

 

The best way to keep something confidential is not to disclose it in the first place. A non-disclosure agreement sets out how you share information or share in confidence. An NDA is sometimes called a confidentiality agreement.

 

Using more than one type of protection:

 

More than one type of protection can be linked to a single product for example:

 

• you could register the name and logo as a trademark.

• You can protect a product’s unique shape as a registered design.

• You can patent a completely new working part.

• Use copyright to protect drawings of the product.

 

You can register your company’s name and logo as a trademark which is valid for 10 years and renew your trademark forever. However, to keep your trademark in force, you must renew it on the 10th anniversary of the filing date and every 10 years after that. If a company failed to renew the TM in the 6 months after the renewal date, you have a further 6 months to apply to restore your registration.

 

Documents required

a.     Figurative elements such as a logo & shape (electronically)

b.    If you wish to formally record the colours using an internationally recognized Colour identification system such as Pantone®, Focoltone®, Munsell Color® or Toyo® please provide the Colour codes for the colours that you have chosen for the logo;

c.    Provide an illustration of your trademark, which may be a word, logo, picture or a combination of these

d.    Company’s logo (clear image) and the descriptive element of the trademark (Electronically with clearer resolution)

e.    Company’s nature of business for us to assess the class under the classification code

Costs

 

The following is an estimate of the total costs involved in the above application:

 

Fee description:  

 

The cost of a UK trademark application starts at £170 with an additional £50 payable per additional class.

 

The application process:

 

The application process has three distinct phases:

 

• Phase 1: Data capture - we capture the application details and publish them on our website.

• Phase 2: Examination - we decide if your application is acceptable and search for identical/similar trademarks.

• Phase 3: Publication - once accepted, all applications are published and are then open to opposition.

 

File a CTM application in up to 3 classes                  :        £1500.00

Trademark Application fee payable to OHIM           :         €900.00 

National search fee                                                     :         €120.00

For each Additional class (if applicable)                    :         €150.00    

 

The application process:

 

The application process has three distinct phases:

 

Phase 1: Data capture – OHIM will capture the application details and publish them on our website.

Phase 2: Examination – OHIM will decide if your application is acceptable and search for identical/similar trademarks.

Phase 3: Publication - once accepted, all applications are published and are then open to opposition.

 

• TM Registration outside the UK:

 

For countries other than the United Kingdom, we can apply directly to the Trademark Office in each country. We can use a single application system to apply for an International trademark (for certain countries throughout the world), or a Community trademark. (for protection in Europe). Both these single application systems cover many countries including the United Kingdom.  

 

• International route:

 

You can apply to register your trade mark through the International route in countries which are party to the Madrid Protocol through the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Currently more than 70 countries are members, including the United States of America, Australia and members of the European Union (EU).

 

• European route:

 

You can apply for a European Community trade mark through the European route via the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (trademarks and designs)(OHIM). The Community trademark gives protection in all European Union (EU) countries.

 

• A single Europe CTM trademark application covers the 27 CTM EU countries as follows:

 

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands and the UK.

 

Time frame:

 

If the examiner doesn’t raise objections and it isn’t opposed by any other holders, it will normally take around 4 to 6 months for your trademark to become registered. If objections are raised, or if your mark is opposed, it can take longer. I can take detailed instructions from you on this matter and take it further and once you instruct me, I will continue to advise you before and during your application submission. I will do all the follow up and keep you posted until the completion of registration.

 

Getting help:

 

Solicitors at Lawsmith Solicitors have extensive experience in handling Intellectual Property Rights matters. To discuss about your IP matters with one of our Solicitors, please contact us on 01279 312185 or submit our enquiry form given below.