Intellectual property rights

The factors covered are:

• The UK’s position on intellectual property rights

• Patents

• Trade marks

• Copyright

• Industrial design rights

• Sector-specific regulations

• Further information

The UK is renowned for strongly encouraging business competition, entrepreneurial activity and innovation. A key aspect of this is the protection of new ideas and concepts provided by intellectual property rights (IPR).

1. The UK’s position on intellectual property rights

The UK takes a fair, pragmatic and transparent approach in supporting companies to secure their IPR. The key organisation responsible for overseeing IPR in the UK (including patents, trade marks, designs and copyright) is the UK Intellectual Property Office (www.ipo.gov.uk).

The Intellectual Property Office is also responsible for ensuring that the UK complies with the main international agreements on IPR. It is responsible for liaising with the World Intellectual Property Organization (www.wipo.int), the European Union (www.ipr-helpdesk.org) and the World Trade Organization (www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/t_agm0_e.htm) specifically in relation to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights which covers 140 countries.

2. Patents

Technical inventions can be protected by patent. A patent is granted by the Government for an invention that is new, involves an “inventive step”, is capable of industrial application and is commercially viable. To apply for a patent in the UK, businesses need to develop a “patent specification” and lodge it with an application form at the UK Intellectual Property Office. For further information, please see: www.ipo.gov.uk

The UK Intellectual Property Office strongly recommends that an application for a patent is developed using the services of a registered or chartered patent agent who will have the necessary skills and experience required to prepare the patent specification. For details of patent agents, please contact the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys at: www.cipa.org.uk

When the patent is granted it gives the inventor the right, for a limited period, to stop others from making, using or selling the invention without the permission of the inventor.

A UK patent will only provide rights to an inventor in the UK. It is important, therefore, that if an inventor wishes to protect the invention internationally, applications are made either to individual countries or to one or both of the following:

• in Europe, the European Patent Office (www.european-patent-office.org), and

• globally, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (www.wipo.int) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, signed by 140 countries.