Retained IP within your new venture could prove very valuable in the future. Not only does the protection help secure your ideas but for future investors the IP ownership can be a valuable asset.
The First Steps
So you have established that your start-up idea has potential to succeed and now want to start sharing the vision with investors, suppliers and potential customers. However, many start-ups are rightly nervous about who they share their ideas with and when.
The world of IP protection is complicated, however, to help you navigate to a suitable starting point so you can progress your vision with confidence we have highlighted the most common ways of protecting your concepts and the best time to deploy them. We are not experts in this area, however, the world of IP protection and design often crossover so we can share what we have learnt through our design experience.
Non-Disclosure Agreements
You may have a great concept but unless you share it with a range of suppliers that can help you make it a reality, it will remain a secret forever. So at some point you have to make the leap and share it. The good news is that there is a simple legal framework which will allow you to confidentially share your idea without compromising your IP.
Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA’s) are the cost effective way to agree a legally binding contract between parties to keep shared information confidential.
Without this binding agreement, any information shared is not confidential and therefore can be considered in the public domain which could invalidate any future patents. So, NDA’s are an essential part of early communications.
Any reputable business will respect a signed NDA; however, beware of additional clauses that can sometimes be hidden within a third party NDAs. To be confident that the agreement does not include any additional limiting clauses, you should consider providing your own to third parties.
Using the NDA’s will allow you to confidentially develop your product idea to a point where it is strategically refined to suit the target market and prepared for manufacture through a process of prototyping and testing. As the idea nears a final solution, you will have more opportunities to protect any IP you have generated before you make it public outside NDA agreements.
Design Registration
Design Registrations protect the look of your design (rather than how it works). They are effective at protecting against counterfeit goods which seek to copy other original designs and are quick and inexpensive to implement.
To apply for a design registration, you will need some drawings of your product; which will most likely be derived from a 3D computer model. You should output these drawings once the design is complete to avoid multiple registrations during the design process.
One note of caution with design registration is that perceived minor adjustment to your design could overcome the protection. The well-publicised Trunki case unfortunately proved this limited protection when they filed an unsuccessful claim against what appeared to be a very similar product.
The UK government provide an impartial overview of design registration here. With a table of costs and a guide to submission. For the relatively low cost it can be a way of securing IP that protects against counterfeits without a significant time or cost outlay.
Trademark
The most relevant way a start-up utilizes trademarks is to protect the name of the business, the products and any associated logo designs. Trademarks cannot protect 3D shapes but as well as words and logos trademarks can also protect:
sounds
colours
a combination of any of these
By registering for a trademark you can stop others using your brand names and logos as the registration grants you exclusive legal rights to use it, license it or sell it within your country.
The time it takes to register a trademark is approximately 12 weeks. Costs are reasonable, with the initial application costing approximately £200 with additional cost for each class of protection. A more in-depth guide to trademarking in the UK can be found here.
Patent
A patent gives the owner an exclusive right to sell their invention for a specific amount of time. Many inventors and start-ups are in a rush to protect their idea as quickly as possible, however it can be a costly mistake to apply for a patent before the scale of the opportunity and the product’s feasibility are known. During a product’s development, the patentable features can change to suit function, costs or manufacturing constraints so it’s best to wait until these are considered before investing in patent protection.
Using the NDA agreement, you can talk to experts who will help you develop the product to a viable point before applying for patents.
To apply for a patent the product must be all of the following:
something that can be made or used
new
inventive - not just a simple modification to something that already exists
Gaining a patent is complicated, expensive and time consuming with 5 years being the average time to complete. The subtleties around the way patents are written and the territories they offer protection in, further complicates the process. Therefore, we recommend appointing a patent attorney who will be able to advise you on the best path. It’s worth noting that the success rate of application submitted without the assistance of a patent attorney is just 5%. You can search for patent attorney in your area here.
Patent Searches
It’s worth highlighting the role of patent searches within the product development process. Whilst it’s diligent to wait for the right time to apply for your patent, it could be worth investing in patent searches at an earlier stage to check your idea is new; particularly if your research uncovers similar products in the same market as yours.
A patent search can help guide your development path by highlighting existing IP in your market which you would need to avoid whilst showing where there is opportunity to for new inventions. You can search for patents online here, however, gaining support from a patent attorney will help you to understand any relevant information.