Too many small businesses pay little attention to intellectual property (IP) regulations until they find out their ideas are being used by a third party. If only they had taken the time to check their rights and register their IP, says Matt Henkes, they could have saved themselves a whole world of worry and legal expense.
The fruits of your creative labour are a bounty that should not only inspire a certain amount of pride, but will ideally enable you to make a bit of cash into the bargain. The last thing you want is some unscrupulous scallywag getting rich off of your idea.
Anything that is a result of your own creativity is automatically classified as your intellectual property. Different rules protect different types. Products and technical solutions are covered by patents and design rights, while literary, musical and artistic creations are covered by copyright. Words, logos and even sounds and smells can be registered as trademarks.
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