IP Protection

Intellectual Property is the intangible asset created and owned by an individual, business or other organisation.

Intellectual Property Protection is the protection of inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, and images created by the mind. From the name on your door, your brand and marketing material, and invention or other creation, there are things that differentiate you from your competitors.

The main forms of protection are patents, design registrations, trade mark registrations and copyright.

Patents protect inventions, and can be used to stop others copying important functional details of new products and processes. They last for up to 20 years.

Design registration can be used to stop others copying the appearance of new products. In Australia, design registrations last for up to 10 years.

A registered trade mark protects brand names, logos, original sounds and scents and even aspects of packaging and can be used to stop others using your trade mark in relation to selected goods and services. They can last indefinitely.

Copyright is automatic but, generally speaking, does not protect manufactured products once in production. It provides the exclusive rights to use, copy, license, perform and modify the creative work. A copyright notice states who created the work and when.