Protecting Innovation and Intellectual Property

• What is Intellectual Property (IP)?

  Refers to the intangible assets that are created by businesses through their creativity and investment
• Why should a business protect their intellectual property (IP)?

  • Maintain a USP
  • Maximise return on investment
  • Reduce threat of competition
• What are patents?

  Patents are designed to protect inventions
• How do patents protect inventions?

  They do so by providing a time period of many years in which the invention cannot be copied by anyone else
• What are the criteria for something to be protected by a patent?

  • New
  • An innovative step
  • It can be made and used
• What is a copyright?

  The protection afforded to the creators of work such as writing, music, and other outputs from a creative process
• What are the key points of copyrights?

  • Important protection for many creative industries e.g. media, design
  • Protection is automatic for any orginal work
  • Can control how copyrighted work is exploited
• Which one of patents or copyrights is the protection automatic and immediate?

  Copyrights