Intellectual Property Checklist

Intellectual property (IP) protects creations such as inventions, literary, and artistic creations, designs, logos and symbols, names and images.

Protecting your creations makes it easier to take legal action against anyone who blatantly steals or copies it without permission.

It also helps you get the compensation you deserve for your intellectual property. You may be wondering: How do I protect my intellectual property? Registering with a patent office is the best way to protect your intellectual property.

However, if you don’t have the money or time to file for a patent, there are other ways to protect your intellectual property. There are three main ways to protect your intellectual property: Patent – This is when you apply for a patent in order to prevent others from making or selling the invention you created. This is also called “patenting” an idea. Copyright is when you apply for copyright to protect your creative works, such as written or artistic creations. Trade-mark – This is when you apply for a trademark to prevent others from using your name, logo, symbol, design, image, slogan etc. as a way to identify your products and services.

If you have a new idea or startup business there are many types of ways you can protect your intellectual property, and some countries do this differently. 

When a patent is granted it becomes the property of the creator.

Intellectual Property Checklist

Protecting your creations.

Register Copyright

Copyright applies to work that is recorded in some way.

Register Trademarks

A unique distinctive trademark.

Business name, word, slogan, design, symbol or other unique item that identifies a product or company.

Registered trademarks may be identified by the abbreviation ‘TM’, or the ‘®’ symbol

International Trademark System

Madrid System provides a facility to submit trademarks applications to many countries at one time.

Register Patent

Patents apply to inventions and industrial processes.

Patents typically take 2 to 3 years to be granted.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

PCT – The International Patent System

Register Design Rights

Designs may be subject to both copyright and design rights.

The International Design System

Hage System the International Registration of Industrial Designs.

What’s the difference between a patent, copyright, trade mark and trademark?

What’s the difference between a patent, copyright, trademark and trademark? The difference between the three kinds of IP protection.

Patent: Stop others from making or selling the invention you created.
Copyright: Covers creative works being copied.
Trademark: Prevent others from using your name, logo, symbol, design, image, slogan etc. as a way to identify your products and services.

Intellectual Property Worldwide

Checklist of countries you may want to register you Intellectual Property.

WIPO – World Intellectual Property
UK
USA There is a differentiation between marks used for products or services Classification called service-marks used for services.
EU European CTM Community Trade Mark (CTM) which covers the mark in all EU countries.
Ireland
Sweden
Australia
Canada