An introductory guide to intellectual property rights
WHAT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS?
A basic definition of intellectual property is:
"an intangible right that results from original creative thought"
But what does this mean in practice?
In essence, it means that if you create some marketing copy starting with a blank piece of paper and do not copy anything from anyone else, your copy will be protected by legal rights.
The opposite is also true in that if you use a piece of copy, a logo or a photograph without permission, someone else is likely to have a legal right to stop you going ahead.
In the first instance, the intellectual property rights are owned by the original creators of the works and their existence allows the creator (or a subsequent owner) to prevent others from using these works without consent.
There are a number of different types of intellectual property rights including:
- Trade marks
- Copyright
- Patents
- Design rights
- Database rights
In this guide we will focus on trade marks and copyright.
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