Hiring an intellectual property solicitor

Intellectual property (IP) includes anything which has been created in the mind of an individual that is protected under IP law. Included in the list of what is protected are songs, written works, designs, inventions and symbols. The means by which people can protect themselves against others copying their intellectual creations come in a number of forms. The most common types of intellectual property are copyright, design rights, trademarks and patents. In the current day and age, IP is big business with businesses across the world invest vast sums of money to protect their ideas, designs and patents.

IP is one aspect of commercial law that has a lot of relevance to a lot of companies – large and small. It is very common for engineering based businesses to invest in specialist IP advice. Without realising it, many companies deal with intellectual property rights on a daily basis. In some cases the ignorance of the rights that others have over a particular design, piece of text or even symbol can cause very complicated and stressful legal issues. This is avery important area of law with much money invested in registering and enforcing intellectual property to ensure an item of intellectual property is exclusively protected for the benefit ofthe business. 

IP law is a very complicated area of commercial law. There can be such a fine line between infringing a third party’s intellectual property rights and being within the law. The lines between copyright or design right infringement and the simple evolution of a design is a minefield in it’s own right. In order to decide whether copyright or design right has been infringed there often have to be material similarities between the original design and a laterdesign thereby enabling a claim that the original design has been copied. This is where the work of an intellectual property solicitor providing specialist intellectual property guidance and advice can literally protect and save a business.

Disputes over whether copyright or a patent has been infringed can have huge implications for the companies involved. If a company is found guilty of infringement then the damages that are incurred can be very substantial. It can also involve an award of payment of the other sides legal costs which can run into the hundreds of thousands or pounds and cases can go on for years at a time until being resolved. Claims of intellectual property infringement are common where two parties disagree on who owns title to a design or invention. If you are having issues with IP law then by far the best way to address them is to find good intellectual property solicitor to offer advice and representation. Given the complicated nature of this type of law, this is where the past experience and know-how of a specialist intellectual property solicitor can be invaluable.