Why its important to own intellectual property
December 2, 2021

Why it’s so important to own your intellectual property

Crucial takeaways on intellectual property and your business

IP Australia, the central hub of information regarding intellectual property in this country, highlighted in their 2017 report the lower numbers of applicants registering their intellectual property.

There were 2,402,254 businesses active in Australia on June 30, 2021, which showed a 3.8% increase between 2020-21. But with a trend for fewer business owners going to the trouble of investing in their own intellectual property, how many of these numbers have the protection they need?

Too often intellectual property is seen as something that is nice to have rather than the essential asset it really is. Our dispute lawyers in Melbourne can testify that it’s worth getting your ducks in a row early on and starting in the way you intend to continue when it comes to intellectual property.

We have seen too many nasty court cases over intellectual property, and the best way of avoiding needing dispute lawyers in Melbourne is to protect yourself in the first place.

Here are some prime reasons why it’s so important to own your own intellectual property.

Protect your assets

There are all kinds of assets when it comes to business, but sometimes we can forget the intangible ones like intellectual property. This is a problem because intellectual property is extremely valuable to businesses.

Things that set your business apart from competitors are pure gold, as they differentiate you in the market. Consider looking into how to protect your intellectual property with a commercial lawyer so that moving forward, you have full control over your assets.

Build value

Intellectual property can be sold or licensed, which is just one way they provide value. If you are looking to sell or license intellectual property, you should first speak with a commercial lawyer.

Value is not just monetary value, it can also be tallied in brand awareness if your intellectual property helps customers identify you. Any intangible type of asset, a way of doing business, a logo, a slogan, a recipe should be protected with the help of a commercial lawyer.

Did you know that intellectual property can also be used as collateral for a loan? It’s an important aspect of figuring out the value of a company.

Discourage competitors

If you have a large part of the market share, and your intellectual property is well protected, those facts are going to help deter competitors from zeroing in on your territory.

But if they see an opportunity of unmined land, designs they can steal, processes they can adopt because you haven’t protected them, then you might find yourself hiring one of our dispute lawyers in Melbourne.

It’s a much better idea to spend the time and money on prevention rather than a cure in many things in life, including intellectual property.

Make your branding inimitable

It can take a lot of work and money to come up with eye-catching, original ideas for branding and marketing. This is exactly why it is so essential that you protect these intangible assets.

The particular colours and designs you use in your logo, the catch-phrases you employ can all be trademarked. Not only that but there is another level of intellectual property to look out for, one which dispute lawyers in Melbourne know only too well – subcontractor work.

While your full-time employees will be covered when it comes to any intellectual property they create for you, subcontractors are another issue entirely. You need to specify in the contract with them that their creations come under your intellectual property and are owned by you.

This is something that a commercial lawyer can help you with. Contracts are a particular area of expertise for our staff here at P&B Law.

Protect your intellectual property with P&B Law

If you want to protect your intellectual property then you need to find yourself an outstanding commercial lawyer to advise you. If it’s worth doing intellectual property, then it’s worth doing it right, and avoiding the need for dispute lawyers in Melbourne down the track. At P&B Law, we can help with all aspects of intellectual property registration as well as drafting contracts that help you ensure ownership of all intellectual property that is created for you.

Contact us today to find out more about your business and intellectual property.