© Copyright Acquisition International 2025 - All Rights Reserved.

Article Image - Intellectual Property Rights – Four Top Tips
Posted 5th December 2022

Intellectual Property Rights – Four Top Tips

The protection and maintenance of a business' intellectual property (IP) is often overlooked and misunderstood by business owners. The IP of a business is a valuable asset, and in the correct circumstances can be utilised to help generate additional income with relatively minimal effort through licensing.

Mouse Scroll AnimationScroll to keep reading

Let us help promote your business to a wider following.

Intellectual Property Rights – Four Top Tips
Intellectual Property

The protection and maintenance of a business’ intellectual property (IP) is often overlooked and misunderstood by business owners. The IP of a business is a valuable asset, and in the correct circumstances can be utilised to help generate additional income with relatively minimal effort through licensing. 

Pete Konieczko-Hansom, Head of Intellectual Property at Blacks Solicitors, shares an overview of matters that business owners should consider when it comes to protecting their IP.

 

What are intellectual property rights

Intellectual property is something that is created using the mind – for example, a story, an invention, an artistic work or a symbol. This typically gives the creator exclusive rights over the use of the creation for a certain period of time. Copyrights, patents, designs and trademarks are all types of IP protection and these can be used to protect the unique creation of names of products and brands, inventions, the design or appearance of a product and things written or produced.

 

Protecting a brand name

It’s important for a brand name or logo  to be protected by seeking to register it as a trademark. A trademark is a sign, design, logo or expression that is capable of identifying a product or service from a particular enterprise2. 

Once a brand name is trademarked it will be easier for businesses or individuals to stop others from copying their brand. This can be seen with licensed sporting goods, for example, if a product bears a football team’s logo the customer will know that they  are purchasing the official merchandise of the team. 

 

Protecting unique inventions

If a business or individual creates unique or innovative processes or ways of operating, it may be worth protecting  this process with a patent. There are very strict rules and regulations in place to obtain a patent, and so businesses should seek advice from a professional sooner rather than later. Obtaining a patent presents many benefits, whether this is through passive income through licensing out the invention or restricting your competitors by forcing them to use inferior materials or products. 

A patent is a type of IP  that gives the owner the legal right to stop others, for a limited period, from making, using or selling the invention without their permission.

 

Protecting confidential information

If a business’ process or procedure isn’t capable of being patented, this can still be protected  by restricting access to essential and confidential information. There may be several reasons why a business chooses not to patent its product, particularly  as a patent only protects an invention for a limited time, after which anyone else may use, sell or create the patent. 

The protection of information can be secured in a variety of ways, from confidentiality agreements to physically limiting the number of individuals who have access to the relevant information. An example of this is the closely guarded secret regarding the Coca-Cola recipe. Whilst it is potentially capable of being patented for a limited time, the company chose against divulging the recipe to the public and instead chose to rely on contract law. This has therefore allowed the Coca-Cola recipe to remain a secret since its invention in 1886 by simply restricting the number of individuals who have knowledge of the key ingredients. 

 

Obtaining licensing

For anyone with a well established brand name, there is always the option of expanding into new areas that they do not already operate in via licensing. This can be related to different geographic areas, or to different areas in terms of products, services and sectors. An example of this is Games Workshop which  has a variety of licensed products from candles, to clothing, to an escape room. 

Categories: Innovation, News


You Might Also Like
Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Producing Accurate Insights for Data Driven Organisations
Innovation
03/05/2019Producing Accurate Insights for Data Driven Organisations

DigitalMR is a technology company which uses Artificial Intelligence for market research and customer insights. Recently the firm found success in AI’s Global Excellence Awards 2019. On the back of this win, we profiled the firm and caught up with Sales & Ma

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Healthcare Heroes
Innovation
04/01/2021Healthcare Heroes

Did you know that every three minutes, a traveller needs emergency medical treatment abroad? For those people in need of urgent assistance, the team at Angels of Flight Canada Inc. are a godsend, providing expert medical advice in a challenging situation. Earn

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Do Businesses Need to Adapt to the TikTok Age?
News
02/08/2022Do Businesses Need to Adapt to the TikTok Age?

Since Facebook took the world by storm in the 2010s, businesses have had to adapt their marketing strategies to align themselves with the social media craze. Those that have failed to do this have missed a prime opportunity to reach new customers and are at ri

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Making Investment Magic in the Mid-Market
Finance
07/06/2017Making Investment Magic in the Mid-Market

a2e Industries are an innovative, Manchester based investment firm focusing on mid-market firms. We profile the firm and examine its dedication to creating shareholder value.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
2016’s Ones to Watch in Anti-Corruption Due Diligence
Legal
06/06/20162016’s Ones to Watch in Anti-Corruption Due Diligence

Anti-corruption due diligence has become a mainstay in global M&A. Increased awareness of bribery and corruption issues and the rapid growth of international enforcement.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Keeping Up With Demands – Is it Time to Outsource Your Delivery Service?
News
08/09/2022Keeping Up With Demands – Is it Time to Outsource Your Delivery Service?

The success of any business depends on a series of factors that converge toward one big goal - customer satisfaction. But, in order to learn what works and doesn’t, managers need to constantly optimize and reassess the current status

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Accenture to Acquire Formicary
Innovation
07/01/2016Accenture to Acquire Formicary

Accenture has agreed to acquire Formicary, a leading provider of consulting and systems integration services for trading platforms in the UK and North America.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
The Best in IP
Legal
29/09/2016The Best in IP

Founded in 1937 as a Patent and Trademarks Agency, Sena & Berton Moreno has grown to reach a workforce of forty people offering a range of services to its clients today.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Entrepreneurship Strategies for the Risk Averse
News
26/01/2023Entrepreneurship Strategies for the Risk Averse

Given that a reported 9 out of 10 businesses fail, with “no market need,” “ran out of cash” and “got outcompeted” paramount among the reasons why, it begs the question: is there a better, more sure-fire way to realize entrepreneurial success? Does



Our Trusted Brands

Acquisition International is a flagship brand of AI Global Media. AI Global Media is a B2B enterprise and are committed to creating engaging content allowing businesses to market their services to a larger global audience. We have a number of unique brands, each of which serves a specific industry or region. Each brand covers the latest news in its sector and publishes a digital magazine and newsletter which is read by a global audience.

Arrow