Have you developed a great product, logo, brand, design or process? Are you a wannabe “inventor”? Do you have a unique target market?
If this description fits you or your business, you should be considering intellectual property (IP) protection.
IP protection comes in various forms, depending on what you are wanting to protect:
Trademark: a valuable marketing tool which identifies your “brand”. Commonly used to protect a word, logo, letter, number, phrase, picture or shape (but can extend to sound and smell too!). By registering a trademark, you have a legally enforceable right to exclusive use of the trademarked item.
Patent: a right that is registered for new, inventive and/or useful devices, substances, methods or processes to provide the owner with a legally enforceable exclusive ability to exploit the invention.
Design: registration protects new and distinctive designs (that is, shapes, patterns, configurations) that have a commercial use. Registration of a design gives the owner exclusive rights of licence and sale.
Plant Breeder’s Rights: protects new varieties of plants to enable the owner to exclusively cultivate, sell and distribute. The owner of a Plant Breeder’s Right is entitled to receive royalties from the sale of the plant.
Copyright: protection of original expression of ideas (not the ideas themselves) is automatically protected in Australia. Examples include books, music, films, artwork and computer programs.
Registration of your Intellectual Property is required in order to obtain the protections offered by trademarks, patents, designs and Plant Breeder’s Rights. Failure to register your idea or product could lead to other people imitating your IP or worse still, claiming a registration so that you will not be entitled to use your own invention!
Online registration is now available to make the application process more timely and cost effective. There is no excuse for putting off your IP registration any longer.
If you are considering IP registration, contact the team at Everingham Solomons. We are well equipped to assist you with all your intellectual property enquiries Because Helping You is Our Business.
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