PITCH&COPYRIGHT

It is important to give consideration to protecting the intellectual property rights to a product or brand and there are various ways to do this;

COPYRIGHT
Copyright is an automatic right and there is no formal application process. There is no official copyright registration system in the UK or most other parts of the world, therefore it’s not necessary to fill in any forms or pay any fees to get copyright protection.

Copyright is like any other form of property, it can be bought, sold, inherited or transferred, wholly or in part and is infringed if the whole or substantial part of a work is used in a manner restricted by copyright.

If you’d like to copyright your work simply use the © symbol, along with your name as the owner and the year it was created in.

TRADEMARK
A trademark is a sign, which distinguishes your goods and service from everyone else’s. A sign can include words, logos, pictures or a combination of all three.

In the UK, you don’t need to register a trademark to use the ™ symbol. An unregistered trademark has legal rights under common law, but it is easier to enforce if you register your mark as a registered trademark.

REGISTERED TRADEMARK
A registered trademark gives you the right to use the ® symbol on goods and services in the classes for which it is registered. You also have the legal right to take action against anyone else using your mark or a similar mark on the same or similar goods and services.

To register your trademark your mark must be;

• Distinctive for your goods and services
• Not the same as any earlier marks on the register

It is unlawful to use the ® symbol if you have not registered your trademark.

When considering how best to protect your brand name we would always recommend that you seek specialist advice from the Intellectual Property Office at www.ipo.gov.uk