Other IP Protection

Other IP Protection

An introduction to Patents, registered designs, trademarks and copyright.

Patents - A patent protects new inventions and covers how things work, what they do, how they do it, what they are made of and how they are made.

Registered Designs - If your idea is unique because it looks different from anything else currently available, then it could probably be protected by registering it as a design. This gives you exclusive rights for the look and appearance of your product. This is used for T shirt designs among other things.

Trademarks - A trade mark is a sign which can distinguish your goods and services from those of your competitors. It can be for example words, logos or a combination of both.

Copyright - Copyright can protect a large variety of creative works. See the specific copyright page for more information.

Registered Designs How to apply for a registered design Registered designs protect the look of your product. If it has a unique shape or decoration then it might be best to protect this by a registered design. It is certainly a lot cheaper and simpler than a patent application.

Trademarking How to protect your unique brand Trademarking protects the unique indentity of your new product. You might be able to protect your new company name, brand logo or even a new tagline. This is a way of protecting your prime marketing tools.

Copyright Knowing your rights as the inventor Copyright is the exclusive right to reproduce an original work. It can cover a variety of different creative works and can be automatically granted to you as the originator of the works. But how do you define and defend that?