Intellectual property rights

Our experienced intellectual-property solicitors advise and support co-operatives and mutuals with all aspects of intellectual property including audits, branding advice, protection of ideas and dispute resolution.

Whatever the size of your organisation, intellectual property has become an important and valuable asset that should be protected. Our experienced intellectual-property team works in partnership with co-operatives and mutuals to advise and support them with all aspects of intellectual-property law, from ensuring their intellectual property is protected to resolving disputes.

We will work with you to identify your core intellectual property and to understand how it is used within your organisation. Following this we can then advise you on the best strategies to protect, manage, develop and commercially exploit your intellectual-property rights.

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind, such as literary and artistic works, designs, names and images used in commerce. It is protected by law under copyright, patents, designs and trademarks, but while some types of protection apply automatically, you must apply for other more complex types of protection.

It is imperative that you ensure all of your intellectual property is protected and do not assume it is covered automatically. Having the right type of intellectual-property protection helps you to stop people from stealing or copying your intellectual property, such as:

• The names of products or brands.
• Inventions.
• The design or look of products.
• Things your organisation writes, makes or produces.

Our intellectual-property (IP) service

At Anthony Collins Solicitors we regularly work with co-operatives and mutuals to help them protect their IP and to support them to implement strategies to minimise the risk of future disputes. Our IP services include:

• Protecting brand assets - including a charity’s name and research property; advising on copyright and licensing laws and ensuring protection of brand assets and other intellectual property.
• IP audits - identifying your rights, how these are used and how they might be at risk.
• Technology-supplier advice - finalising the standard terms and conditions you offer to customers or resellers, advising on negotiated contracts, and wider business advice such as finance, joint ventures and business sales, purchases and mergers.
• Advice for buyers of ICT - working with your team to negotiate contracts for business-critical systems or services.  Contracts could include server hosting and other outsourcings, buying a new ecommerce website, service-level agreements, change controls, and buying business management software.
• ICT risk and compliance advice - helping you build compliance and risk management into your business, with advice on website regulations, defamation, confidentiality, discrimination, consumer law, data protection and your contractual obligations.
• Branding advice - providing guidance on trademark or domain-name registrations, brand launches or re-branding exercises and preparing comprehensive enforcement strategies, including action against spite sites and internal education policies.
• Protection of ideas - advising on confidentiality agreements, registration of rights such as patents, designs and trademarks, and how to protect your unregistered rights such as copyright and database rights.
• Exploitation of your rights - preparing licences, assignments and distribution agreements of your IP rights, and recommending ways to increase royalty or other revenue streams.
• Development of your IP - advising on internal R&D, collaboration agreements and joint ventures with third parties to develop and expand your rights.
• Enforcement of your IP - preventing the infringement of your rights or resolving ownership disputes, whether by negotiation or through formal proceedings.