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

Che cos'è la proprietà intellettuale (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 volontà 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. I diritti sui disegni e modelli differiscono a seconda che siano registrati o non registrati. Si applicano ai disegni e modelli registrati su carta o se un articolo è stato realizzato secondo il disegno o modello in questione. Un disegno o modello non registrato protegge solo la forma esteriore del disegno o modello, mentre un disegno o modello registrato protegge il disegno o modello nel suo complesso. 
4. I brevetti proteggono i processi industriali e le invenzioni. Essi conferiscono al titolare del brevetto il diritto esclusivo di utilizzare quel processo o quell'invenzione per un certo periodo di tempo.

Come posso proteggere la mia IP?

1. Originalità - La vostra idea, il vostro nome o il vostro lavoro devono essere originali per poter essere protetti; non volete affrontare le spese di progettazione di un logo e di brandizzazione della vostra idea per poi scoprire che qualcun altro sta già utilizzando lo stesso logo o un logo molto simile. Si tratta di un settore complesso ed è consigliabile rivolgersi a un legale.
2. Riservatezza 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. Prove - Assicuratevi di conservare tutte le prove relative alla generazione della vostra idea, qualsiasi e-mail, disegno, nota; qualsiasi cosa relativa allo sviluppo della vostra PI. È particolarmente utile conservare le prove che confermano la data di creazione della PI.
4. Registro 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 aggiuntivo 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. Protezione in tutto il mondo? Potrebbe essere opportuno proteggere la vostra proprietà intellettuale al di fuori del Regno Unito. Ciò significa che avrete bisogno di marchi separati, brevetti internazionali e registrazione del design.
6. Cura 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 il 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. Proteggere 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 matter 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. Preparare che potreste essere costretti a intraprendere un'azione legale civile per violazione della proprietà intellettuale, ed è ragionevole mettere in conto questa eventualità se l'autore della violazione non risponde a una semplice richiesta di cessazione della violazione.

Il 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.

(Nota bene: 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.)