What is IPR?

Perhaps you came across the concept before and wondered what it means. IPR is short for Intellectual Property Rights also known as the rights to intangible property.

When a property is intangible or intellectual it means that, it is not a physical quantity such as a car or a home. Usually, you are able to get the Intellectual property rights to an idea, either a new invention, technical knowledge, a design or the name of a product.

When you have the rights to an idea, you are in the position to decide who can use the idea and how.

How can I use IPR?

If you and your company have an idea, it is relevant to consider what the rights to this idea would mean for you: would you like to make money on the idea? Do you want to find partners to cooperate with? Do you wish to stop others from copying your idea?

It can be beneficial to investigate whether anyone else has gotten the same idea as you, and if that person has already obtained the rights to it – with that kind of insight, you avoid wasting your valuable time and resources.

If you want to secure the rights to your ideas, products, technologies and inventions, it is necessary to have them registered. You can protect your ideas in several ways for example with a patent, a trademark registration or with design protection. It is important to find out which IPR strategy fits your situation, and often you will be in the better position with a combination of several methods.

Creating and complying with an IPR strategy can be just as important for your company as creating a strategy for all the other business areas.

6 ways to protect your idea

Secrecy

If you do not tell anyone about your idea, no one can copy it. However, this can be a risky method. If someone suddenly gets the same idea, it can be hard to prevent him or her from using it, even if you had the idea first.

Publication

By publishing your idea, you can document that you had it first. Nevertheless, if you publish the idea without applying for any type of protection, it is legal for others to copy your idea. The advantage of publishing the idea as your own is, that others cannot acquire patent on it.

Patenting

Patenting is relevant for inventions and technology. Patents protect your idea in a certain frame of time, which gives you time to develop your idea and profit from it.

Trademark registration

With a trademark registration you have an official stamp showing that your idea is distinct and unique, and that the idea is yours alone. Read more in the menu: 3 Reasons to consider trademark protection

Design protection

If your product has a unique design, you can protect its form and other characteristics. A design registration acknowledges that your design is unique and that you have the sole rights to it.

Copyright

Copyright is only valid for original, artistic works such as paintings, music and literature. Your work is protected from the moment you start creating is, and you do not have to do anything else. However, it can be advantageous to combine your copyright with a trademark protection. For example TARZAN® is registered as a trademark, which means that the owners are able to control what types of derived products are made with the figure long after the copyright expires.

Which of these types of protection is better will always depend on which type of company you work for and what kind of product you want to present to the market. However, if you run a serious and ambitious company, it is required that you carefully analyse and evaluate the pros and cons of protecting your rights.

If you need any clarification of the methods listed above, or you have any questions concerning how to secure your intellectual property rights, you are more than welcome to dial our number: 33 63 93 00 or send us an email pv@pv.dk and we will help you create a solution that fits your particular situation.