Protecting your business brand

Identify your intellectual property

Discover what intellectual property your business owns, from brand names and creative content to inventions and designs. Understanding your IP assets is the first step to protecting them.

UK-wide
Guide summary

Find out what intellectual property (IP) your business owns, such as brand names, designs, or inventions. Identifying IP helps protect it legally and can add value to your business. Check if you need to register your IP with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

  • Check your business has trade marks, patents, designs or copyright
  • Register trade marks with IPO for £205 per class from April 2026
  • Register patents with IPO for £310 (takes up to 5 years)
  • Register designs with IPO for £50 online per design
  • Copyright is automatic (no registration needed)
  • UK IP protection only covers the UK (use EUIPO or Madrid Protocol for abroad)
  • List your brand, creative works and inventions when checking IP
  • Check Companies House register before choosing a business name
  • Keep evidence of creation dates for copyright works
  • Unregistered designs have automatic protection for 10 years
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UK-wide

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Intellectual property (IP) is something unique that you physically create - your ideas, inventions, creative works, and brand identity. Many businesses have valuable IP without realising it.

Identifying your IP assets is essential because:

  • Protection: You can't protect what you don't know you have
  • Value: IP can be your business's most valuable asset, adding significant worth for investors or buyers
  • Risk management: Knowing what you own helps prevent accidentally infringing others' rights
  • Commercialisation: You can license, sell, or franchise IP once you've identified and protected it

Audit your business for IP assets

Most businesses have more IP than they realise. Conduct a systematic audit to identify what you own:

1. Your brand and identity

  • Business name - Your trading name and registered company name
  • Logos and visual identity - Designs, colour schemes, typography
  • Slogans and taglines - Distinctive phrases associated with your brand
  • Domain names - Web addresses you own
  • Social media handles - Username consistency across platforms

These assets are typically protected as trade marks (if registered) or through passing off rights (if unregistered but established through use).

2. Creative content and materials

  • Website content - Written copy, images, graphics, photography
  • Marketing materials - Brochures, advertisements, videos, presentations
  • Product documentation - User guides, manuals, instructions
  • Software and code - Websites, apps, internal systems, databases
  • Publications - Blog posts, white papers, reports, research
  • Training materials - Employee handbooks, courses, e-learning content

These are protected by copyright automatically from the moment of creation. No registration required, but keep evidence of creation dates.

3. Technical innovations and inventions

  • New products or processes - Novel technical solutions or manufacturing methods
  • Improvements to existing products - Technical enhancements or modifications
  • Software algorithms - Innovative technical approaches in code (beyond the code itself which is copyright)
  • Scientific or technical discoveries - Research findings that could be commercially valuable

Technical innovations may qualify for patent protection if they are:

  • New (not publicly disclosed anywhere in the world)
  • Inventive (non-obvious to someone skilled in the field)
  • Capable of industrial application (can be made or used)

Critical: Patents require formal registration and professional advice. Do not publicly disclose the invention before filing a patent application or you'll lose the right to patent it.

4. Product designs and appearance

  • Product shapes and configurations - 3D form of products
  • Surface patterns and decorations - Textiles, packaging, product graphics
  • Packaging design - Distinctive boxes, bottles, containers
  • User interface designs - App screens, website layouts, icons

Product appearance can be protected as:

  • Registered designs - Formal registration with IPO (£50 online, lasts up to 25 years)
  • Unregistered design rights - Automatic protection for 10-15 years depending on type

5. Trade secrets and confidential information

  • Customer lists and databases - Contact details, purchasing history, preferences
  • Supplier relationships - Special arrangements, pricing agreements
  • Business processes - Manufacturing methods, quality control procedures, operational workflows
  • Know-how - Accumulated expertise and practical knowledge
  • Financial information - Pricing strategies, cost structures, margins
  • Research and development - Works-in-progress not yet ready for patent filing

Trade secrets are protected through confidentiality rather than registration. Protection lasts as long as the information remains secret.

Key requirement: You must take reasonable steps to keep the information confidential (NDAs, access controls, employee contracts with confidentiality clauses).

  1. 1

    Create an IP inventory

    List all your IP assets across the five categories above. Include creation dates, creators (employees or contractors), and current protection status (registered, unregistered, confidential).

  2. 2

    Document creation and ownership

    Gather evidence of when IP was created and who created it. Keep dated drafts, emails, lab notebooks, design files. Ensure employment contracts assign employee-created IP to your business.

  3. 3

    Identify gaps in protection

    For each asset, determine: Is it protected? Should it be registered? Are there risks of infringement? Brand names and logos should usually be registered as trade marks. Valuable designs benefit from registration.

  4. 4

    Check for third-party rights

    Search the IPO database to ensure your brand name, logo, or product design doesn't infringe existing registered IP. Use the free IPO search tools for trade marks, patents, and designs.

  5. 5

    Assign contractor IP in writing

    If contractors or freelancers create work for you (design, content, software), ensure contracts explicitly assign IP rights to your business. Copyright and design rights default to the creator unless transferred in writing.

  6. 6

    Consider professional IP audit

    For tech businesses, manufacturers, or where IP is core to your value proposition, commission a professional IP audit from a patent or trade mark attorney. Typical cost £1,000-£3,000 but can identify valuable unprotected assets.

Common IP ownership pitfalls

Be aware of these common mistakes when identifying and claiming IP ownership:

Contractor-created IP

Unlike employee-created work (which generally belongs to the employer automatically), work created by contractors and freelancers belongs to them unless you have a written agreement assigning IP to your business.

Always include IP assignment clauses in:

  • Freelance designer contracts
  • Software developer agreements
  • Photographer and videographer terms
  • Copywriter and content creator contracts
  • Consultant and agency agreements

Joint ownership and co-creation

If you develop IP jointly with another business or individual (e.g., co-developed products, collaborative research), document ownership and usage rights in writing. Joint ownership can be complex - each owner may need consent from others to commercialise the IP.

Open source and third-party components

If your product incorporates third-party IP (open-source software, stock photography, licensed fonts), document what you're using and under what terms. Some open-source licenses require you to open-source your entire product. Keep records of:

  • Open-source libraries and their licenses
  • Stock photography and font licenses
  • Third-party APIs and SDKs
  • Licensed components and agreements

Next steps: From identification to protection

Once you've identified your IP assets, consider which need formal protection:

  • High priority for registration: Brand names and logos (trade marks), key product designs, technical inventions (patents)
  • Protect through contracts: Trade secrets, confidential information, customer data
  • Automatic protection: Creative content (copyright), unregistered designs

Budget for IP protection as part of your business planning. Trade mark registration starts at £170, design registration at £50, and patent applications at £310 (though professional fees for patents can be several thousand pounds).

WARNING

IP ownership when you have co-founders

If you're starting a business with co-founders, agree IP ownership in writing from day one. This prevents disputes later.

Key points to document:

  • Who owns IP created before the company was formed (pre-existing IP)?
  • Will co-founders assign their IP to the company?
  • What happens to IP if a co-founder leaves?
  • How will IP be valued if the company is sold or one co-founder buys out another?

Use a Founders' Agreement or Shareholders' Agreement to document IP ownership, assignment, and what happens in different scenarios.

Co-founder disputes over IP ownership are common and can destroy businesses. Document IP ownership as early as possible, ideally before incorporation.
Intellectual Property Office - apply for IP protection (opens in a new tab)