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Health Warning:These FAQs are not intended to be exhaustive and do not constitute or substitute legal advice, which should be sought on a case by case basis. Please treat the answers as general information, not legal gospel. Please remember that the law is constantly changing, so the answers are subject to change in the light of new legislation or case law. These FAQs are based on English law.
What is “intellectual property”?
It's just an umbrella (and not very user-friendly!) term to describe a collection of legal rights. that can only be enforced through legal action – you can't physically re-possess your copyrights or trade marks. (You can, however, get a court order to seize illegal copies that bear your copyright or brand if you are successful in a legal action for intellectual property infringement). These rights include copyright and similar rights, trade marks, goodwill, business secrets and know-how, patents and contract rights. In e-business, customer data is a key asset. This data can be protected through the database right. Your intellectual property rights will come into play when you suddenly discover that someone is using the same, or a very similar, trade mark or logo to your own; or your confidential business plans or data get into the hands of a competitor; or counterfeit copies of your branded goods appear on the market. At that point, enforcing your intellectual property rights becomes the guardian of your company’s value. Also, at the time of a float or trade sale, you may find that the investor asks for an 'IP' audit and valuation to be carried out. It's precisely at times like these that you want to be sure that your intellectual property is fully protected.
What is “intellectual property”?
It's just an umbrella (and not very user-friendly!) term to describe a collection of legal rights. that can only be enforced through legal action – you can't physically re-possess your copyrights or trade marks. (You can, however, get a court order to seize illegal copies that bear your copyright or brand if you are successful in a legal action for intellectual property infringement). These rights include copyright and similar rights, trade marks, goodwill, business secrets and know-how, patents and contract rights. In e-business, customer data is a key asset. This data can be protected through the database right. Your intellectual property rights will come into play when you suddenly discover that someone is using the same, or a very similar, trade mark or logo to your own; or your confidential business plans or data get into the hands of a competitor; or counterfeit copies of your branded goods appear on the market. At that point, enforcing your intellectual property rights becomes the guardian of your company’s value. Also, at the time of a float or trade sale, you may find that the investor asks for an 'IP' audit and valuation to be carried out. It's precisely at times like these that you want to be sure that your intellectual property is fully protected.
