Intellectual Property

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind - inventions, designs, brand names, artistic works, and confidential know-how - that the law protects through a set of exclusive rights. For UK small businesses, IP is often one of the most valuable assets on the balance sheet, even if it never appears there explicitly.

The UK has a well-established IP framework administered primarily by the Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), based in Newport, Wales. The main categories of IP that matter for startups and small businesses are trade marks, patents, copyright, registered designs, and trade secrets. Each type protects a different kind of asset, lasts for a different duration, and requires a different approach to registration and enforcement.

Getting your IP strategy right early is important. It is far cheaper to register a trade mark before you launch than to rebrand after a competitor claims the name. And it is far easier to include IP assignment clauses in your contracts from day one than to unwind ownership disputes later.

A trade mark is a sign that distinguishes your goods or services from those of other businesses. It can be a word, logo, slogan, shape, colour, sound, or a combination of these. Registering a trade mark with the UKIPO gives you exclusive rights to use that mark in the UK for the goods and services you register it against.

Registering a UK Trade Mark

You apply to register a trade mark through the UKIPO online service. The process involves:

1. Choosing your classes: trade marks are registered by class under the Nice Classification system (45 classes covering all goods and services). You need to pick the classes that match what your business actually sells.
2. Searching for conflicts: the UKIPO does not refuse marks solely because a similar one exists, but an existing rights holder can oppose your application. Run searches before you apply.
3. Filing and examination: the UKIPO examiner checks your mark meets the legal requirements - it must be distinctive, not purely descriptive, and not contrary to public policy.
4. Publication and opposition: if the examiner is satisfied, your mark is published in the Trade Marks Journal for a two-month opposition period.
5. Registration: if no one opposes (or oppositions are resolved in your favour), the mark is registered and you receive a certificate.

The current fee for an online application is 170 GBP for one class, plus 50 GBP for each additional class. Processing typically takes around four months if there are no objections or oppositions.

A UK trade mark registration lasts for 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed indefinitely in 10-year periods.

International Protection

Since leaving the EU, UK trade marks no longer cover EU member states. If you need protection across Europe, you will need a separate European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) filed through the EUIPO. The UK remains a member of the Madrid Protocol, which lets you file a single international application (via the UKIPO) designating multiple countries for protection. This is often the most cost-effective route if you trade internationally.

A patent gives you the exclusive right to make, use, sell, or import an invention in the UK for up to 20 years. To qualify, your invention must be:

• Novel: it must not have been publicly disclosed anywhere in the world before your filing date
• Inventive: it must involve an inventive step that would not be obvious to someone skilled in the relevant field
• Capable of industrial application: it must be something that can be made or used in practice

You cannot patent abstract ideas, mathematical methods, artistic works, business methods (as such), or computer programs (as such) - though software that produces a technical effect may be patentable in certain circumstances.

Filing a UK Patent

You file a patent application with the UKIPO. The process from application to grant typically takes two to five years. The UKIPO filing fee starts at around 310 GBP, but the total cost - including professional drafting by a patent attorney, search fees, and examination fees - is usually between 3,000 and 7,000 GBP for a straightforward application.

Once granted, you must pay annual renewal fees from the fifth year onwards to keep the patent in force. If you stop paying, the patent lapses.

European and International Patents

The UK is a member of the European Patent Convention (EPC), so you can file a single application with the European Patent Office (EPO) and designate the UK among your target countries. An EPO-granted patent is validated in each designated state individually. The UK also participates in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for worldwide filings.

For pharmaceutical and plant protection products, the UK offers Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) that can extend patent protection by up to five years to compensate for the time spent in regulatory approval.

Copyright protects original works of authorship and arises automatically when a qualifying work is created and fixed in a tangible form. There is no registration system for copyright in the UK. The governing legislation is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988).

Copyright covers a wide range of works relevant to businesses:

• Literary works: website copy, blog posts, marketing materials, software code, and databases
• Artistic works: logos, illustrations, photographs, and graphic designs
• Musical and dramatic works: jingles, video scripts, and brand audio
• Films, sound recordings, and broadcasts
• Typographical arrangements: the layout of published editions

For most works, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. For sound recordings, it is 70 years from publication. For films, it is 70 years after the death of the last surviving principal director, author, or composer.

Although registration is not required, it is good practice to mark your works with the © symbol, the owner's name, and the year of creation. This puts others on notice and can help in enforcement. You should also keep records of when works were created and by whom, particularly if disputes arise later.

A registered design protects the appearance of a product - its shape, lines, contours, colours, texture, materials, or ornamentation. To be registrable, a design must be new and have individual character (it must produce a different overall impression on the informed user compared to existing designs).

You register a design with the UKIPO. The initial registration lasts for five years from the filing date and can be renewed in five-year increments up to a maximum of 25 years. The online application fee starts at just 50 GBP per design, making it one of the most affordable forms of IP protection.

Unregistered Design Right

The UK also provides an unregistered design right that arises automatically for original designs. This covers the shape or configuration of an article (but not surface decoration). The unregistered design right lasts for 15 years from creation or 10 years from first marketing, whichever is shorter. In the last five years of protection, anyone can apply for a licence of right.

Not all valuable business information can be registered as IP. Recipes, algorithms, customer lists, pricing strategies, and manufacturing processes may all qualify as trade secrets if you take reasonable steps to keep them confidential.

In the UK, trade secrets are protected by the Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018, which implemented the EU Trade Secrets Directive into UK law (and have been retained post-Brexit). Under these regulations, a trade secret is information that:

• Is not generally known or readily accessible
• Has commercial value because it is secret
• Has been subject to reasonable steps by the holder to keep it secret

If someone acquires, uses, or discloses your trade secret unlawfully, you can seek injunctions, damages, and other remedies through the courts. The key practical point is that you must demonstrate you took reasonable steps to protect the information - this means using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), restricting access on a need-to-know basis, marking documents as confidential, and implementing appropriate technical security measures.

Trade secret protection lasts indefinitely - as long as the information remains secret. Unlike patents, there is no expiry date, but there is also no protection if the secret becomes public through legitimate means such as independent discovery or reverse engineering.

Your online presence is often the first thing customers see, and it is worth protecting it proactively.

Domain Names

Register your business name as a domain early - ideally the .co.uk and .uk variants as well as the .com. Domain names are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis and are not automatically linked to trade mark rights, so someone else can register your brand name as a domain even if you own the trade mark.

If someone registers a domain that conflicts with your trade mark, you can use the Nominet Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) for .uk domains. The DRS is faster and cheaper than court action, though it requires you to show that the domain is an abusive registration - typically cybersquatting or an attempt to take unfair advantage of your rights.

Social Media Handles

Reserve your brand name on the major social media platforms - even those you do not plan to use immediately. Most platforms have trade mark dispute policies that let you recover a handle if someone else is using your registered mark in a misleading way, but prevention is easier than enforcement.

If you discover that someone is infringing your trade mark online - whether through counterfeit listings, copycat social media accounts, or keyword advertising using your brand name - you can report it through the platform's IP infringement process and, if necessary, take legal action for trade mark infringement or passing off.

One of the most common IP issues for small businesses is working out who actually owns the IP that has been created. The answer depends on whether the creator is an employee, a contractor, or a co-founder - and the rules are different for each.

Employees

Under section 11 of the CDPA 1988 (for copyright) and section 39 of the Patents Act 1977 (for patents), IP created by an employee in the course of their employment belongs to the employer by default. This means if your developer writes code, your designer creates graphics, or your marketing manager writes copy as part of their job, your business owns the IP automatically.

The exception is where the work falls outside the employee's normal duties or specifically assigned duties - for example, a side project done entirely in the employee's own time using their own resources.

Contractors and Freelancers

This is where many businesses get caught out. In the UK, the default rule is that a contractor retains the IP in work they create, even if you commissioned and paid for it. Unless your contract includes a clear IP assignment clause, the contractor owns the copyright, design rights, and any other IP in their deliverables. You may have an implied licence to use the work for the purpose it was commissioned, but you will not own it outright.

The solution is straightforward: always include written IP assignment provisions in your contractor and freelancer agreements. Make sure the assignment covers all present and future IP rights and is signed before (or at the start of) the engagement.

Co-Founders

If two or more founders create IP together before incorporating a company, that IP is jointly owned by the individuals. Joint ownership can create complications - for example, each joint copyright owner can independently prevent the other from licensing the work to third parties. A founders' agreement should address IP assignment to the company at incorporation, along with provisions for what happens if a founder leaves.