BUSINESS ® You OK Hun? cont...
When the copying gets called out, as it usually does, some businesses reach for the last tool in the box- intimidation- a tactic that poisons the well, stifles creativity altogether and says far more about the copier than the copied.
“ Inspiration, imitation, intimidation; it’ s a classic business trap and the best insurance against falling into it- or finding yourself on the receiving end of it- is a working knowledge of intellectual property.”
What Actually is IP?
Intellectual property is the umbrella term for creations of the mind that the law lets you own- your brand name, your logo, your strapline, your designs, your written content, your inventions and your know-how. It splits into a few distinct camps. Trademarks protect the badges of your business- names, logos, slogans, even sounds and colours; copyright automatically covers original creative work the moment it’ s made, from website copy to photography; registered designs protect how a product looks; patents protect how an invention works; and trade secrets guard the recipes, processes and client lists you’ d rather competitors never saw.
Together, these intangible assets have become the beating heart of modern business value- the latest figures from the Office for National
Statistics found UK firms now invest far more in ideas than in tangible assets, ploughing £ 244.7 billion into intangibles in 2023 alone.
Why It Matters More to Small Businesses
Here’ s the uncomfortable truth- the smaller the business, the bigger the stakes. A multinational with a legal department the size of a village can absorb a copycat; a family firm cannot. Your brand may well be the single most valuable thing you own, and infringement is not a niche problem. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’ s 2024 report into counterfeit trade estimated that goods infringing UK intellectual property rights were worth £ 12.1 billion, costing the country roughly 20,000 jobs and £ 776 million in lost public revenue. Yet awareness hasn’ t translated into action- the Intellectual Property Office’ s own survey of UK SMEs found that while 96 % were familiar with trademarks, only 63 % had actually used any form of IP protection.
Then there’ s the modern reality nobody warns you about. Small businesses that do stand up for their assets can find themselves facing genuinely abhorrent behaviour in response- coordinated social media pile-ons, anonymous abuse, fake reviews and paid campaigns designed to drown out a legitimate legal position with noise.
It’ s grim, it’ s cowardly and it’ s increasingly common, which is precisely why having your paperwork in order matters so much. A registered right turns a shouting match into a fact; you’ re no longer arguing about who was first, you’ re simply pointing at the register.
How to Protect Your Brand
Start with an audit. List everything your business owns that a competitor might covet- name, logo, strapline, product names, packaging, photography, copy, domain names- and work out what’ s protected and what’ s exposed. Search the IPO’ s free online register before you commit to any new name or slogan to ensure you’ re not treading on someone else’ s toes( falling in love with a name that’ s already taken is an expensive heartbreak). Keep dated records of everything you create, get contracts in writing so it’ s crystal clear who owns commissioned work- a photographer, by default, owns the copyright in images you paid for unless your agreement says otherwise- and set up simple monitoring, even if that’ s just a monthly search of your brand name. Eligible small businesses can also apply for a part-funded IP audit through the IPO’ s delivery partners, where your assets will be assessed for a fraction of the usual cost. Bargain.
How to Register a Trademark
This is the big one for brand protection- and it’ s far less daunting than it sounds. You apply online through the Intellectual Property Office, choosing the classes of goods and services your mark covers- there are 45 of them, spanning everything from clothing to publishing. An examiner reports back within around 20 working days and your mark is then published in the Trade Marks Journal for a twomonth window in which others can object; if nobody does, it’ s registered- yours, exclusively, for 10 years and renewable indefinitely. Most straightforward applications complete in about four months with no solicitor required.
THE BENEFITS OF A REGISTERED TRADEMARK
It Maintains Ownership and Exclusivity Registration transforms your brand from something you use into something you legally own. That ® symbol tells the world the mark is taken and it hands you the exclusive right to use it for your registered goods and services across the UK- no more relying on murky, hard-to-prove claims about who thought of it first.
It Safeguards Revenue and Prevents Copycats Every customer who buys from an imitator thinking it’ s you is revenue walking out of the door, and worse, their shoddy product becomes your reputation problem. Registered rights let you shut that down quickly- a single letter should do the job- keeping your hard-won custom exactly where it belongs.
It Grows With Your Ambitions A trademark doesn’ t just protect the business you have; it protects the business you’ re planning. Registration secures your name for the goods and services you choose today and stakes your claim before you’ ve opened, say, a second premises or launched a sister title- and, when horizons stretch further still, a UK registration is the springboard for international protection under the Madrid Protocol- one application, in English, covering your pick of more than 130 countries. Think of this as building the moat before you may need it.
It Builds Consumer Trust Customers buy into brands they recognise and believe in, and consistency is the bedrock of that belief. When your name and look are protected, people know that what they’ re buying is the genuine article, made to the standard they’ ve come to expect- trust that takes years to build and one convincing knock-off to shatter.
It Secures Competitive Advantage Your brand is your difference made visible and protecting it forces you to keep innovating rather than glancing sideways. A few tips for staying on the right side of the inspiration line- admire strategy, never copy execution; use competitors as a springboard, not a template; and if you’ re checking a rival’ s website more often than your own analytics, it’ s time to get back to your own drawing board.
It Increases Business Value and Avoids Costly Litigation Registered IP is an asset in the truest sense- it can be valued, licensed, franchised and sold, and investors and lenders take a business with a protected portfolio far more seriously than one built on hope. It’ s also the cheapest legal insurance you’ ll ever buy, because litigation is ruinously expensive and registration is precisely what helps you avoid it; most disputes involving a registered mark end with a letter, not a courtroom.
178 • www. insidekent. co. uk