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Intellectual Property

Intellectual property refers to the rights that creators of certain pieces of work have over that piece of work. For certain types of business, intellectual property is a key asset, and it is now becoming an ordinary consideration of a wider range of companies, due to the increased emphasis on E-commerce and digital communications. Intellectual property in the UK is broadly divided into three categories - copyright, trademarks and patents, although there is also provision in the law for 'registered designs'.

Copyright is the most 'abundant' form of intellectual property, as it does not need to be registered for the owner to enjoylegal protection - mere skill and effort in its creation, and some form of recording are sufficient - and it can cover words in a book or on a website, photographs, sounds and video, as well as possibly other less common forms. However, this very nature can make copyright difficult to prove, meaning legal advice is advisable for businesses, and associated protection is often worthwhile for businesses reliant upon a strong brand of technology or media. Trademark protection can be given to ensure you have exclusive rights over your name, as well as offering the ability to check if there are already those operating with the same name, and ways of resolving any potential conflict. A new aspect of this has arisen recently regarding internet domains. Patent law exists as protection for certain processes or 'inventions', that are usually described and specified rather than written or pictured, and legal specialists are available who have appropriate technical or scientific knowledge for different fields.

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