be implied during the course of
employment between an employer and
employee because of the nature of
the relationship. However, to ensure
that there is no doubt, and to put
the employee on notice of his or her
responsibilities, it is advisable for the
the first owner – but this does not apply
for any designs created on or after that
date.
There may be legal arguments as
to whether the company engaging the
consultant has the benefit of an implied
transfer of the IP or a licence, but this
is by no means a certainty. Accordingly,
a written agreement addressing IP is
particularly important in the context of a
consultancy relationship.
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Strictly speaking, confidential
information is not IP, because there is
no clear property to own. For example,
Coca Cola’s recipe and manufacturing
process is recorded in a document, and
the Coca-Cola Company would most
likely have owned copyright of that
literary work. However, an employee
or consultant could misuse that
information without copying or taking
the document. Ensuring confidential
information remains secret is therefore
the most important issue.
An obligation of confidence will
LEGALLY SPEAKING
contract of employment to include
express obligations of confidence.
Between a company and a consultant,
there is unlikely to be an implied
obligation, so the terms of the
consultancy agreement are particularly
important.
SFIO CRACHO /stock.adobe.com
IP right What does it protect Examples
Confidential information Commercially-sensitive, confidential information. In order to be protected, the
information must have the necessary quality of confidence and be disclosed in
circumstances that impose an obligation of confidence. There is no system of
registration in the UK.
● Trade secrets
● New or improved to products or
processes
● Business methods
● Customer lists and information
● Financial information
Copyright Copyright arises automatically on the creation of an original work. Copyright
protects original artistic, musical, dramatic and literary works, including
computer programs, sound recordings, films, broadcasts and typographical
arrangements of published works. There is no system of registration in the UK.
● Product manuals
● Graphic designs
● Product photography
● Software
Design rights Design rights protect the way a novel/original product looks. There is an
automatic form of protection which arises when an original design is recorded in
a design document or an article is made to the design. The unregistered system
sits alongside a system of registration which provides stronger protection.
(See also www.is.gd/bogemi)
● Novel product designs
Patents Patents protect inventions; that is, innovative products or processes. A patent is a
published document disclosing an invention and provides the owner a complete
monopoly to exploit the invention. Broadly speaking, whereas design rights
(above) protect the appearance of a product, a patent would protect how it works.
To obtain patent protection, the product or process must be new, capable of
industrial application and not be excluded from protection. (See also pp. 26-7)
● Innovative products or processes
Trademarks These are words and symbols used by traders to distinguish their products and/
or services. To be protected, the mark must be distinctive and be capable of
distinguishing the relevant goods and services. (See also www.is.gd/zawipu)
Words, logos, names, slogans and colours
that distinguish the origin of goods and/
or services
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/www.ied.org.uk