The law surrounding the protection of distinctive business ideas (such as business names, materials, inventions, and product designs) is known as Intellectual Propiedad law. It is relevant to every type of business – from a family owned manufacturer of jewellery to a global brand like Coca-Cola.

¿Qué es la propiedad intelectual (PI)?

IP can be generated through commercial activities such as research and development, a manufacturing process or a creative action such as writing lyrics or a novel. There are four main areas of IP: copyright, trademark, design rights and patents.  All four types of IP can be protected at the UK Intellectual Property Office – but not all need to be.

1. Copyright applies to original work that is recorded in some way, such as written down, recorded video or sound. The author of the original work will have copyright in what they have created. Copyright is an automatic right – it can be registered, but doesn’t need to be.
2. A trademark is a distinctive name or logo that identifies a business or other organisation.  UK trademarks should generally be registered in order to protect them from being used by others.
3. Los derechos sobre los diseños varían en función de si están registrados o no. Se aplican a los diseños plasmados en papel o a los artículos fabricados con arreglo a dicho diseño. Un derecho sobre un diseño no registrado protege únicamente la forma exterior del diseño, mientras que un derecho sobre un diseño registrado protege el diseño en su conjunto. 
4. Las patentes protegen los procesos industriales y las invenciones. Otorgan al titular de la patente el derecho exclusivo a utilizar ese proceso o invención durante un período de tiempo.

¿Cómo puedo proteger mi propiedad intelectual?

1. Originalidad – Tu idea, nombre u obra debe ser original para poder gozar de protección; no querrás incurrir en los gastos que supone diseñar un logotipo y desarrollar la imagen de marca de tu idea para luego descubrir que alguien más ya está utilizando uno igual o muy similar. Se trata de un ámbito complejo, por lo que es recomendable que consideres la posibilidad de solicitar asesoramiento jurídico al respecto.
2. Confidencialidad is key to protecting IP rights that may be created in the course of business – if you tell other people of your original business idea you will want to make sure that they cannot steal it.  It is advisable to include express obligations of confidentiality in your contracts to protect your  business, and also express provisions which clarify that any IP rights created by employees or consultants while working for you are to be owned by you, and not by them.
3. Pruebas – Asegúrate de conservar todas las pruebas relacionadas con el origen de tu idea: correos electrónicos, bocetos, notas... cualquier cosa relacionada con el desarrollo de tu propiedad intelectual. Es especialmente útil conservar pruebas que confirmen la fecha en que creaste la propiedad intelectual.
4. Registrarse your IP with the Intellectual Property Office in a timely manner. By way of example a UK patent can take up to 4-6 years in some instances, whereas other sorts of IP are usually quicker.  In some cases adicional avenues might be available to you to speed up the processing of a patent application, for example the Green Channel, which accelerates the registration process if their invention has an environmental benefit.
5. Cobertura mundial¿Podría ser conveniente proteger tu propiedad intelectual fuera del Reino Unido? Esto implicaría que necesitarías marcas registradas, patentes internacionales y registros de diseños independientes.
6. Cuidados for your IP – treat it with the care it deserves and look after your IP. Keep disclosure to a minimum; other than in confidentiality agreements el details of a design or creative work should not be shared with anyone outside of the scope of your business. Limit access to sensitive information, only employees or contractors who need access should be given it.
7. Proteger it from infringement. Online infringement is becoming more and more common, so frequent searches and checks should be carried out to make sure imitators are not taking advantage of your IP. The infringement of an IP right is a civil asunto in the case of patents, trademarks, designs and copyright. In the case of trademarks and copyright the act may also constitute a criminal offence.
8. Prepárate teniendo en cuenta que es muy posible que tengas que emprender acciones legales civiles por infracción de la propiedad intelectual, y es aconsejable prever un presupuesto para ello en caso de que el infractor no responda a una simple solicitud de que cese la infracción.

En team at Ronald Fletcher Baker offer a full service to protect your IP assets, from technology ideas for Apps to copyright infringements, they are well versed in helping ensure that your business idea is protected both online and offline.

(Tenga en cuenta: This article was originally published on our previous website and is provided for general information purposes only. While it reflects the legal position at the time of writing, the law may have changed since publication. For up-to-date advice tailored to your circumstances, please contact our team.)