When we talk about IPR protection, we must first understand the importance of registration. When an individual or organization develops a new product involving many processes, content, resources, etc., a lot of time and money is invested. The inventor or organization usually expects to be able to hold exclusive rights to the invention while preventing others from benefiting from it.
IP systems and intellectual property laws ensure this exclusivity. Although registration of an intellectual property or trademark is not compulsory, it provides the inventor with certain advantages, including prima facie proof of ownership, which allows the owner to assert the IPR in court if deemed necessary.
If IPR is not protected, there are several dangers. For example, failure to protect IP may allow anyone to unauthorized benefit from the benefits of the unprotected invention.
No law can prevent someone from replicating and seeking to profit financially from someone else’s innovation if the IP is not filed. Additionally, it is the owner’s responsibility to prove ownership of the IP in court if it is not registered. A trademark must be protected for the court to help the inventor because it is not possible to claim ownership and sue anyone for infringement.
The need to protect IP
It is essential to protect IPR. First, inventors have sole control over how their IP is used to their advantage – both in terms of usage and financial benefits. The inventor can decide on the price of the invention, marketing, and distribution channels, as well as countless ways to make a profit and enjoy a high return on investment.
Second, filing an IP application allows the inventor to exclude others from financial benefit.
Third, if a competitor violates the IP laws that protect inventors, inventors can exercise their right to sue the party trying to profit from the invention. If found guilty, the court may award financial compensation to the inventor, which will be paid by the person or entity seeking to benefit financially from the invention attributed to the IP owner.
As such, intellectual property rights are essential because they provide incentives for inventors to continue to innovate and profit from their inventions.
IP protection is a complicated process that involves registration of the IP, followed by a lengthy process of verifying the authenticity of the creation.
The process from registering the IP to issuing the patent, trademark, copyright, or functional design involves extensive research on the part of the person or entity issuing the IP. The entity granting the IP must ensure that the creation is original and authentic and that it is not taken from another innovation. This involves publishing new creations in intellectual property journals for fact-checking purposes in case another person or entity claims intellectual property rights over the same or similar designs.
The entire process, from registration to granting intellectual property rights, can take from a few months to several years and includes several rounds of corrections on the part of the inventor.
The advantages of a DPI
Intellectual property rights also protect the actual business assets necessary to produce the goods and services, as well as the company’s ideas and concepts.
Among the many advantages of preserving intellectual property rights are the following:
- Increasing Market Value: Intellectual property rights can help you create opportunities through licensing, selling, and even marketing IPR-protected products and services. This will improve market share and increase profits. Possessing legally registered and safeguarded intellectual property rights can also raise the company’s worth in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale.
- Transform ideas or thoughts into profitable assets: Ideas have little value on their own, but registering ideas under intellectual property rights can help you transform them into commercially profitable products and services. Registering copyrights or licensing patents can generate a steady stream of royalties and additional revenue.
- Marketing your products and services: Obtaining intellectual property rights, such as trademark registration, can improve your business’s image. These rights can help you distinguish your products and services from those of others.
- Access capital or raise funds: An individual can monetize intellectual property rights by selling, licensing, or using them as collateral for debt financing. Additionally, having intellectual property rights can assist you in your application for government grants or loan advantages when applying for public funding, such as grants or loans.
- Improve export opportunities: A company that has registered IPRs will be able to use trademarks and designs to market its products and services in other markets as well. A company can also take advantage of franchise agreements with foreign companies or export patented products.