What intellectual property is and why it matters for the business owners

Intellectual-property is any product of the human intellect protected from unauthorized use by law. It represents a driving force for any start-ups, motivating their competitiveness and strategic management to mitigate the IP risks. Hence the primary focus should be to keep the intellectual property (innovative invention and proprietary ideas) well protected with intellectual property rights (IPR). The start-up unit or entrepreneur needs to understand their intellectual property and how to exploit it.

Innovative entrepreneurship generates innovative inventions and proprietary ideas. Such inventions or ideas need to be protected in the form of copyright, patents, trademarks, and registered designs. Intellectual property rights reflect the relationship between the inventor or business owner and their innovative invention and proprietary ideas. All such things seem to be vital for new start-ups while planning and implementing competitive business strategies. Let’s have a brief idea about the different intellectual properties!

What is a patent?

A patent is a legal proof approved by the government to the inventor specifying the innovative invention. The approved patent remains as the property of the inventor. It will give the inventor the right to stop others from using the invention without their permission. Like any other property or business asset, it can be sold, rented or given on lease. Patents also include the territorial rights to stop others from importing the same products into the country.

What is a trademark?

Trademarks are symbols of origin that differentiate the goods or services of one trader from another. It may come in numerous forms such as logo, wording, slogans, shapes, colors, and much more. Trademarks are registered and approved marks used for specific goods or services within individual subjects and classes. Others can write identical or similar patterns if it is not coming under the same category. You can determine the trademark class and other legal things on the website, or you can consult an intellectual property rights consultant or solicitor to get a better solution.

What is copyright?

Copyright is the intellectual property that generally protects the work created by the original author. It will preserve the skill, labor, judgment and creation of the author. In most situations, the author is the right holder who creates the work, the composer of the music, the writing of a writer, the play of an artist, the photo shoots & films of a photographer, recorded sound and much more. Copyright indicates that the author’s intellectual creation is restricted to others for copying. It would violate copyright to make copies or direct transcriptions without the copyright owner’s permission, or the law expressly permits it. The authors can assign the rights to a third party as well.

What is a registered design?

Registered Designs are nothing but the eye appeal of an object. They are used as intellectual property to be used in the home, commercial building, interior design, furniture, households, appliances, bathroom fittings, jewellery, etc. The designs used as intellectual property provide automatic protection for prescribed years from creation, subject to renewal fees.

Conclusion

Innovative inventions and proprietary ideas nowadays are the prime source for new start-ups. Intellectual property is the representative indicator for such creative activities. You need to protect it in the form of copyright, patents, trademarks and registered designs. The official intellectual property rights (IPR) approval paper you get for your inventions or ideas encompasses the details of several relevant factors. As a new start-up, you may need robust valuation, analysis and risk mitigation effort to realize the positive potential of your intellectual property. It is wise to assist an intellectual property rights (IPR) solicitor or consultant that provides an appropriate procedure to make your intellectual property remain protected and safe. They provide helpful suggestions and give you a greater understanding of which intellectual property protection is most suitable to help your business succeed.

Authors Bio

This article is written by Kommita leading consulting firm with strong technical skills and knowledge of IPR management and reliable yet efficient service to bring success to your start-ups.

Author: Kommit Tech

Kommit is a Techno-Legal Consultancy specialising in Intellectual Property with a special focus on patents. https://www.kommit.co.in/.