Murgitroyd’s Gordon Stark explains why being aware of intellectual property considerations can be key to entrepreneurial success.
It’s a critical skill of any entrepreneur to be able to sell the story behind their new product or service to potential customers, colleagues and investors. A clear articulation of how innovation led to a new product or disruptive service model being brought to market is often critical too and this means being aware of the role which intellectual property (IP) rights can have in protecting intellectual assets.
A well-structured portfolio of IP rights can provide significant benefits, such as market exclusivity, increased company value and even a reduced UK tax rate on profits made from selling innovative products. Modern day entrepreneurs are expected to understand at least the basics of IP and to use protection of intellectual assets as part of a wider strategy to drive company growth and value.
Making reference to intellectual property rights which are associated with products or services can also be used to demonstrate points of differentiation to customers and can underline that products or services are cutting edge and that as a company, you think about things in a different way to your competitors.
Ignoring the IP position of your own company or that of your competitors can have serious consequences. If you encroach on the IP of others, or even choose to ignore it, this could result in significant disruption to your business, such as the need to rebrand, to withdraw products from the marketplace or even the involvement in time consuming and costly court proceedings.
So, the best approach to mitigating these risks is to be aware of IP and how it affects your business. Spending time working on your own IP protection strategy and having an awareness of what IP others may have is an
important exercise to undertake.
If your company is reliant on the creation of new ideas and product development, then ensuring that staff are aware of what IP is and how it benefits the Company is important, as is ensuring that any employment, consultancy or development contracts are clear on who owns any new innovation.
Finally, if innovation is core to your Company, then ensuring that any new ideas are captured internally and not disclosed outside of the Company is important, as premature disclosure of a new idea could be prejudicial to seeking patent protection. In short, being IP aware and proactive will not only save a lot of problems, but also bring significant advantages.
Gordon Stark is Chief Operations Officer of Murgitroyd and a qualified UK and European Patent Attorney.
Entrepreneurs can apply for funding worth £6,500 plus additional support through Murgitroyd’s Innovator Launchpad 2018 competition (closing date 7 Nov @ 1200 GMT): see murgitroyd/innovatorlaunchpad
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