What Is Intellectual Property? How to Safeguard Your Rights

Your intellect has value once you claim it.

If you’re confused about what kind of economy is driving us into the future (gig, sharing), let me tell you: it’s a knowledge-based one. Businesses are thriving under the rule of highly creative and innovative people. One thing that is fueling this economy is intellectual property.

Companies and individuals can legally protect intangible assets and creations of the human mind. These assets are legally protected and cannot be put to any use without due consent. Intellectual property is the umbrella term under which all such assets are categorized.

If you think monitoring these assets must be a real pain, you would be correct! However, technology like intellectual property management software helps businesses manage databases, automate registrations for new and ongoing intellectual property ownership, and track violations of these rights.

Implementing and owning someone else’s intellectual property without due consent is a legal violation. Most developed countries have legal measures in place to protect the use of intellectual properties.

Importance of intellectual property

Developing and owning intellectual property is critical for businesses seeking to innovate. An increasing number of big and small companies are turning their attention to investing in research and development (R&D) efforts and securing rights to intellectual property. This brings in the need to accurately identify, document, and protect intellectual properties. 

Since most IPs are tied in some manner to a company’s products (if corporately owned), an efficient IP strategy will reconcile with the work being done on the businesses’ products. Consequently, intellectual property adds commercial value to the company and enables leaders to scale up ambitiously while balancing innovation.

Types of intellectual property

Hear me out, I’m not trying to categorize the creations of our beautiful minds, but I’d not be telling the whole story if I didn’t mention the big ones.

While intellectual property encompasses most intangible assets, the main types include patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and geographical indications (GIs).

All types of intellectual property form an important part of a company’s asset management strategy and enable people to earn recognition or money for their creations.

Leaders must strike the right balance between the interests of the innovators and other stakeholders to build successful organizations that promote creativity and innovation.

Patents

A patent is a government-granted property right to build, sell, and use inventions while disallowing others from doing so. Patents in the US are typically granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and provide inventors with exclusive rights to the invention. Matter categorized as inventions includes designs, processes, or physical machines.

Patents can be expensive to obtain and maintain due to recurring yearly fees or patent costs. Anyone can file for a patent, but it is only valid in the issuing country once granted. Therefore, inventors must consult with legal service providers about which regions and markets require patent protection by law. It is also essential to keep in mind that patents usually only last 20 years.  After that, it expires and can be subject to duplication.

Types of patents

There are three main types of patents that businesses and individuals can file for.

1. Utility patents: New and useful processes, machines, manufacturing articles, and compositions of matter that are discovered fall under utility patents. These expire in 20 years, and regular fees are required for maintenance.

2. Design patents: Original, new, and ornamental designs (industrial designs)  are eligible for design patents. Both 2D and 3D features, such as patterns and lines, as well as shapes and surfaces, are included under these industrial design properties. These patents are valid for up to 14 years.  

3. Plant patents: Discoveries of new varieties of plants created from non-reproductive plant cells are included under plant patents. The criteria for these state that the plant must be asexually reproducible, and the reproduction must be genetically identical to the original. Plant patents are good for 20 years.

Copyrights

Let’s face it: we’d all claim Beyoncé’s music as our own if we legally could. 

Authors, artists, musicians, and creators of unique materials gain exclusive rights to use, copy, or duplicate their work through copyrights. The original owners can legally authorize the creation to anyone through licensing agreements and other means.

Copyrights do not protect ideas, methods, processes, etc. Instead, they provide rights to aspects of ideas that denote expressions, such as titles, names, phrases, slogans, symbols, or colors and lettering.

Businesses can also own copyrights when employees or independent contractors create work made for hire. The U.S. Copyright Law states that copyright owners possess the following rights exclusively:

• Right to reproduce work
• Right to prepare derivatives of the original material
• Right to distribute copies (selling, ownership transfer, licensing)
• Right to display or perform the work publicly

So when do copyrights expire?

Any work created on or after January 1, 1978, has copyright protection 70 years after the creator’s death. However, for business applications (re: works for hire), the copyright has a life of 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation. 

Copyright protection is automatic but can be more secure if the author applies for copyright registration. Registered work allows owners to have copyright material on the public record and obtain a registration certificate. The process also makes creators eligible for statutory damages and attorney fees.

Trademarks

When you see the checkmark sign, what do you think of first? Your to-do list or the footwear giant? My bet is on the latter.

Symbols, phrases, words, designs, sounds, and insignias that are recognizable and identifying factors of a business are termed trademarks (goods) or service marks (services). Simply put, a trademark is an intellectual property that legally separates a company from other products and organizations. It is exclusive to the company and cannot be used and copied by another party. 

The USPTO also issues trademarks in the United States. Having a trademark does not imply that the company owns the logo or word; rather, it owns the right to decide how said logo or word can be used for business purposes. For this reason, people sometimes confuse trademarks vs. copyrights. It is possible for a design to be protected by a trademark while at the same time being copyrightable as a work of art.

Businesses must remember that it’s easier for unique slogans and designs to qualify for trademark protection rather than long, descriptive phrases. Consumers recall brands more easily when they hear “I’m lovin’ it” rather than “crispy french fries with a tangy ketchup.”

Main benefits of trademark registration:

• Helps identify the brand and source of products and services
• Provides the brand with legal protection
• Acts as a safeguard against counterfeit goods and fraudulent activities

Trademarks typically expire after ten years and can be renewed for 10 years. Filing fees are based on several factors, including the type of form and number of classes of goods or services. Companies must clearly represent the mark in mind (and on paper) before application. Browsing the trademark search list to ensure that a similar trademark doesn’t exist is recommended.

Trade secrets

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines trade secrets as company information that can be leveraged by external parties for economic benefit or competitive advantage, and which is not public knowledge.

Not all confidential information can be termed trade secrets. For example, an organization will put extra effort into protecting its R&D data to avoid the risk of any data leakage.

While laws vary for different nations, common intellectual property law views the unauthorized acquisition, use, and disclosure of trade secrets as a legal violation. IP rights to organizational secrets are protected and cannot be sold or licensed.

Geographical identifications

Fun fact: NYC is the Big Apple, but Washinton State has geographical IP rights on the fruit. But what does that mean?

Under IP law, goods can possess signs or GIs of a specific origin. Each of these signs has a characteristic that is attributed back to its place of origin. Since product quality is often tied to the place of production, the two have a clear relationship.

Geographical identifications are typically used for these products.

• Food
• Wine and spirits
• Agricultural products
• Handicrafts
• Industrial goods

How to protect intellectual property

Protecting intellectual property (IP) involves taking legal and strategic steps to safeguard creations, inventions, and branding from unauthorized use.

Here are key methods to protect intellectual property:

• If you have invented something novel or unique, apply for a patent. This will grant you exclusive rights to the invention for a certain period, preventing others from using or selling it without your permission.
• Register your brand identity, including logos, slogans, and company names, as a trademark. This ensures that others cannot use similar branding that might confuse consumers.
• For artistic, literary, or musical works, obtaining a copyright ensures that only you have the legal right to reproduce, distribute, or publicly display your work. It applies to written content, software code, films, and more.
• If your IP is a business process, formula, or design that provides a competitive edge, keep it confidential and protected as a trade secret. Limit access and use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with employees and partners.
• If you want others to use your intellectual property, create legally binding licensing agreements allowing controlled use while maintaining ownership.
• Regularly monitor the market and online platforms for unauthorized use of your IP address. If infringements occur, take legal action to enforce your rights, which could involve cease-and-desist letters, settlements, or litigation.
• If you operate in multiple countries, consider protecting your IP in those regions by registering patents, trademarks, or copyrights internationally. IP laws vary by country, so protecting your rights globally is essential.

Intellectual property rights and infringements

When we talk about intellectual property protection, we’re referring to the rights associated with these assets, intellectual property rights (IPR). IPRs must not be infringed upon by people unauthorized to use them or their attached assets.

Intellectual property law provides IP owners the right to prevent others from reproducing, mimicking, and exploiting owned works. However, infringement can occur and is defined differently for each type of intellectual property.

• Patent infringement: Patent law states that when a patent under IP protection is made, used, sold, or imported without obtaining a license from the patent holder, a third party infringes on its rights.
• Copyright infringement: When unauthorized parties recreate a portion or complete piece of work (book, music, creative work), it is considered a copyright violation. The duplicated content does not necessarily need to be the exact copy of the original work to qualify as IPR infringement.
• Trademark infringement: Using licensed trademarks and service marks (exact or similar) without authorized permission violates intellectual property rights. Competitors may often use trademarks to disrupt business, attract customers, and piggyback on rival companies’ brand value.
• Trade secrets infringement: While trade secrets are protected by non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), they can be violated if someone discloses parts or all information to an external party.

What's yours is yours!

Almost every company has one or more kinds of intellectual property, ranging from brand colors to logos to more complex assets like patents on programming systems and vital research secrets. 

Regardless of the number of IP assets, knowing about local and international laws is imperative when applying for IPRs. Hiring in-house or external counsel and leveraging the right software to record flings and identify infringements can save tons of money and time.

Learn all there is to know about contract management for your next big move.

This article was originally published in 2022. It has been updated with new information. robust