What is Intellectual Property: A Beginner's

Primer Intellectual Property

1
2
3
4
5
6

Intellectual Property or 'IP' is a broad term that is used to describe the

results of creative and innovative endeavors. It is described
as 'intellectual' because it is the result of the application of the mind.
It is described as 'property' because, just like other property, it can be
owned, sold and transferred, leased or given away.
Types of intellectual property include:
patents (for new or improved products and services)
trade marks (for logos and brands)
registered designs (for the shape or appearance of a product)
plant breeder's rights (for new plant varities),
copyright (including software, databases, and other copyright works),
and
circuit layout design rights.
Confidential Information is sometimes also called intellectual property,
although it does not have all of the features of the items described
above. Confidential information can be referred to as trade secrets,or
know how, and can include items such as a client list, manufacturing
specifications, business and marketing plans.
Almost every type of business has some kind of intellectual property.

What is an IP Audit and why do one?

A stock audit or stock inventory is a familiar business management tool.
When taking an inventory of stock, you identify the quantity of stock you
have, and the amount of stock that is needed.
It is an important business management tool to capture information so
that decisions can be made about stock that needs to be produced or
ordered, stock for which demand is less than expected and stock that
may be out of date or defective.
This information enables informed and considered business decisions
to be made in the best interests of a business seeking to efficiently
manage its assets.

IP Audit
An IP audit or IP inventory is no different. An IP audit will capture and
analyse information so informed and considered decisions can be
made. In this case, intellectual property is the subject of the audit or
inventory.
If you are conducting an IP audit for the first time, you may be surprised
at how many IP assets your company has and how valuable they are to
your business. Furthermore, an IP audit may uncover potential risks to
your business that could ultimately result in costly legal proceedings
with employees or third parties.

2
3
4

There are two steps in the IP audit.

The first step is to identify IP. Intellectual Property Explorer will help
you identify your IP by asking you a series of interactive questions. By
responding to each question, you will identify IP in your business which
you own, or which you use.
The second step is to assess what your rights are in relation to
each item of IP identified. Remember, the economic benefit of IP
cannot be realised unless a business has ownership over the IP
available to it.
Intellectual Property Explorer will progressively take you through a
series of interactive diagnostic questions that will help you ascertain:
1 whether you own the IP
if you do not own it, whether you have adequate rights over it
whether adequate steps have been taken to protect the IP in relation to
your staff and contractors
whether there are any restrictions affecting your ability to freely use the
IP, such as joint ownership.
The tool concludes by also asking some specific questions concerning
the protection of intellectual capital (knowledge that is useful to your
enterprise) in relation to your key employees.
After Intellectual Property Explorer has helped you undertake your IP
audit, you will then be able to generate reports that will:
present an inventory of your IP, and
make recommendations in relations to areas of concern or uncertainty
about your IP, or where your IP protection strategies are needing
attention or improvement.

Investigate all thing created and developed

by your business
Physical property or assets such as computers or machinery are easy
to recognise, because they are three dimensional, and can be seen,
touched and felt. A business can count its three dimensional property.
But it is not that easy with intellectual property.
Because intellectual property is intangible, and cannot be seen, touched
and felt, it can be perceived as a more elusive asset. The reality is that
intellectual property is recognised as being amongst a business's most
valuable assets in today's marketplace.
Day to day, businesses sell goods or services, but year to year they are
building up ideas, goodwill and recognition linked to a brand, logo,
product or standard of service. In reality they are building up value
linked strongly to their IP assets. That's why these assets need to be
identified and protected.
But lets consider the different types of intellectual property and the
different forms they take. Some types of IP must be registered to exist.
These are:

5
6
7
8

patents - for new or improved products or processes

trade marks - for brands including words, symbols, pictures, sounds,
scents or a combination of these
designs - for the shape or appearance of manufactured goods, and
plant breeder's rights for new plant varieties.
Aside from these, there are a number of IP rights that exist without the
need for formal registration such as copyright, confidential information
and trade secrets.
Copyright covers books, art, music and sound recordings, photographs,
software, databases, films, advertisements and promotional materials
while confidential information and trade secrets could include any
information that would lose its value if it was obtained by your
competitors such as business plans or client listings.
Identify what rights may apply to your business.

Identify
To help you identify which IP rights may be relevant to your business,
and to better understand the advantages of each one, the different
types of IP, both registerable and non registerable, are briefly described
below.

Registerable Intellectual Property

Patents and patentable inventions
A patent is a right granted by the governing body within each country in
relation to an invention. The right allows you to exclude competitors
from exploiting, or benefiting commercially, from the invention.
View more on patents

Trade marks
A registered trade mark can protect elements of your brand such as a
product name, tag line or logo. In this way, the trade mark helps to
distinguish a specific product or service from a competitor's product or
service. By doing so, this creates customer loyalty and enables the
product or service to more effectively compete with other similar goods.
View more on trade marks

Registered Design
A registered design protects the appearance and visual features of a
product. It protects the shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation
which gives a product a unique appearance.
View more on registered design

Plant Breeder's Rights

Plant breeder's rights are a right granted to a breeder in relation to a
variety of a plant, or certain other matter such as fungi and algae.
Upon registration, the exclusive rights offered to the owner include:

7
8
9
10

the ability to produce or reproduce the material

condition the material for propagation
sell the material, and
export the material.
View more on plant breeder's rights

Non Registerable Intellectual Property

Copyright
Copyright comes into existence as soon as work is recorded in some
way. This may be by writing, keyboard entry and storage on a
computer's hard disk, or making an audio or video recording. In most
countries, Copyright is not a registerable right.
Copyright exists in the work itself, and is the exclusive right to copy,
publish and distribute works, and to enjoy certain other rights,
depending on the type of copyright work concerned. Some examples of
works which Copyright may exist include software programs,
databases, literary works, photographs, sound recordings and video
recordings.
View more on copyright

Confidential Information
Confidential Information is information which has value and is not
publicly known, giving your business a competitive edge that would be
lost if it were obtained by your competitors. For example, this could
include manufacturing know how and trade secrets, databases of
customers, databases of suppliers or the functionality of computer
programs.
These are all things which are intellectual in nature and a business
should seek appropriate strategies to keep these items confidential.

Intellectual Capital
Intellectual capital is broader than intellectual property, and broader
than trade secrets, know how, or confidential information. In broad
terms, intellectual capital is knowledge that is useful to an enterprise. It
can be broken into three categories: human capital; structural capital,
and relational capital.
The meaning of these categories, and some examples, is set out in the
table below:
Category

Meaning

Examples

Human Capital

Valuable knowledge assets

Professional competencies
held in the heads of your staff Work experience
and available for use to
Motivation and behavior
create wealth for the
enterprise.

Structural Capital

Systems and practices of

your enterprise that add

Quality control system

Financial control system

value and create wealth for

the enterprise (things
that are still there when the
staff go home for the
night).
Relationship Capital

Brand
Training programs
Registered IP rights
Customer database

Value-creating relationships

Relationship with sharehold

Relationship with suppliers
Convenience of retail outlet
Relationship with regulators
A part of human capital is confidential information, including what may
be described as know how and trade secrets. But human capital goes
further, referring as well to skills, competencies and experiences that
make staff members an important part of the capital of an enterprise.
Most organisations contain structural capital including what may also be
described as know how and trade secrets. Examples may be quality
control systems, process and procedure manuals, customer databases,
etc. This is non proprietary intellectual property, as distinct from the
proprietary Copyright works that may record these systems, processes
and manuals.

Circuit Layout Rights

Circuit layout rights protect the layout designs for integrated circuits and
computer chips which are central to the operation of many electronic
devices.
View more on circuit layout rights

Conclusion
The sheer diversity of IP and circumstances surrounding its creation,
can make it difficult for a company to be fully aware of the extent of its
IP. An IP audit can help remedy this.
From: http://intellectualpropertyexplorer.com/identify/