Intellectual Property (IP) rights can provide a number of significant benefits to your company. So how can you make sure that you secure strong IP protection for your business?
It is important to have a complete strategy for your business when it comes to IP. At Sandersons we believe that a comprehensive IP strategy should consider four main areas:
We can help you develop an IP strategy specific to your business that covers all four of these areas.
In this four-part series of blogs we will explain how we can help you to achieve your IP GOAL.
In our previous post we discussed Generating IP. This week we discuss ways in which Sandersons can help you with Obtaining IP rights.
Geography
Where should I apply for protection?
Registered IP rights, such as Patents, Trade Marks and Designs, are generally only granted for specific countries or regions. For example, a UK patent will only be enforceable in the UK. The costs and requirements for obtaining IP rights in different countries or regions can vary dramatically, but Sandersons can discuss with you possible filing strategies for obtaining registered IP rights based on your budget, your market and your competitors activities.
Drafting
What should I try to protect?
Registered IP applications can be complicated documents and it is important to get these documents right from the outset. Sandersons provide a complete drafting service including providing drawings. We could also provide you with templates to help reduce your costs for drafting applications. In either case, you will be involved in the drafting process throughout, ensuring that your application is complete and accurate.
Prosecution
I’ve filed an application… What happens next?
Prosecution is the process from filing an application for registered IP rights through to the granting of those rights. This can be a complex process and it is extremely common for objections to be made to the application by the IP Office involved. Sandersons can help to guide you through this process. Together we can decide on a strategy for responding to any objections raised that still provides you with useful protection for your products or brands. Sandersons can also be responsible for monitoring any letters sent and deadlines set by the IP Office in question, removing the burden of your doing this yourself.
Purchasing IP Rights
What are we getting?
Another way of obtaining IP rights is to purchase those rights from others. However, IP rights are not always as good as they appear to be and so it is important to assess any IP rights before agreeing to purchase them. Sandersons can carry out due diligence assessments of IP rights including assessing the validity and scope of protection provided by the IP rights in question so that you can be more certain that you are getting a good deal.
The above are just some of the ways in which Sandersons can help you to achieve your GOAL of a comprehensive IP strategy.
If you would like any advice regarding Generating IP or any of the other topics in this series of blogs, then do not hesitate to contact Sandersons to book a free 30-minute consultation. Please remember to mention this blog when booking your consultation.
In our next piece we will be discussing Avoiding the IP rights of others.
