Intellectual property is that class of intangible asset that is borne out of the human mind. Being intangible in nature makes it difficult to quantify. Intellectual property is a very valuable asset for businesses and it needs protection from being infringed upon and misused. New businesses that are a result of new and innovative ideas need protection otherwise they would lose their competitiveness. These ideas and innovations are their assets (intellectual property) on which the entire success of their business depends. They have a legal right over their intellectual property just as the owners of any other physical assets.
Laws have been enacted to protect intellectual property both at the domestic and international level. There are many intellectual property lawyers in India who specialise in and have expertise in these laws. The article here, tries to highlight the importance of intellectual property lawyers for new and small businesses.
Intellectual Property and TRIPS
Intellectual property is classified into different types, such as trademarks, patents, industrial design, and copyrights. Intellectual property rights are recognised internationally under the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. It is governed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It allows the creators of such property to have exclusive right to ownership over it, although for a limited period of time. Intellectual property is different from physical asset in the sense that it is intangible and indivisible. It is never depleted. Giving protection to the creators of such assets allows them to economically benefit from their creation and encourage others to innovate more.
Protecting Intellectual Property
While bigger organisations have developed and maintain intellectual property on a large scale, small and medium enterprises and especially the newer ones take too long to understand the importance of protecting intellectual property thereby exposing their intellectual property to infringement and misuse. Businesses need to be proactive from the beginning as far as protecting intellectual property is concerned. However, it is a costly affair, and new and small businesses are reluctant to spend so much money. They would rather spend that money on expanding and up-scaling their business. It is a complex situation for small and medium enterprises and they find themselves in a dilemma whether to protect their intellectual property at the outset or wait for their business to develop before enforcing protection.
Challenges with Protecting Intellectual Property
Protecting intellectual property is vital for your business. However, it is not as easy as it may seem. When you start your business you might register your intellectual property in your country. But with the world becoming a global village where there is free flow of information, your intellectual property might be infringed upon in some other country. As your business expands and you grow internationally you realize that your protection was only limited to your country. When you try to take your business to some other country you might be faced with a situation where your intellectual property had already been registered by someone else in that jurisdiction. It creates a lot of complexities with regards to selling rights in that jurisdiction. It is here that the importance of intellectual property lawyers in India comes to fore. They can help you file intellectual property protection in those jurisdictions at the earliest and secure your business interest.
Importance of Intellectual Property Ownership and Licensing
In a swiftly growing intellectual property market where new filings are growing exponentially, it is vital for small and medium businesses to register their intellectual property ownership and licensing at the earliest. As more and more people are filing for intellectual property protection, especially trademark and patents, space for clear and undisputed intellectual property is depleting by the day.
Owning intellectual property debars others from using anything identical or similar to your creation without your prior permission. You can license your product to others and earn additional income. If you leave your creation unprotected, it could be infringed upon and misused by others.
So we can safely say that protecting intellectual property is vital for the survival of small and medium enterprises. Irrespective how much it might cost, companies shouldn’t hesitate from intellectual property filing at the beginning itself. Otherwise, you may find yourself spending huge amount of money on defending your property. There are expert Intellectual property lawyers in India who can help you protect your intellectual property across jurisdictions.
Many new technologies have come up that help in managing intellectual property filings and also maintain a public ledger of all intellectual property ownership.
