What Should Start-Ups Be Doing To Protect IP?

Thursday 26th April marked World Intellectual Property Day, an annual celebration and acknowledgement of the role that intellectual property (IP) rights, which include patents, trademarks, industrial designs and copyright, play in encouraging innovation and creativity in businesses around the world. Innovation and creativity often play a vital role in both the launch and continued success of any new business, therefore it is important for owners of start-ups to carefully consider how a robust IP strategy will help to safeguard the commercial proposition and future growth of their business.

What is Intellectual Property (IP)?

IP is not generally a widely understood term but is one that is increasingly brought to the fore, courtesy of high profile cases such as that of global chicken restaurant Nando's, which accused an independent restaurant named Fernando's of IP infringement through the replication of its name and images. More recently, the European Court of