Intellectual Property Essentials for Start-Ups

An introduction to IP and its importance for startups/ fledging (新型產(chǎn)業(yè)) business

Introduction

• IP can be key assets for business for
  • all sizes
  • all sectors
• particular value for start up
  • only real asset and key differentiator
• key to stopping other start up
  • for mimicking
• Different guises
  • each with their own particular rules
  • existence and effects

Why should a startup care about IP?

• Failure to consider IP can have significant impact
  • on business and
  • its prospects at the outset
• IP can be a key value element for subsequent investors
• Many IP rights require consideration at an early stage
• Others give beneifts from early registrations

What should you be thinking about on IP?

• IP should always support your business plan
  • what are you planning to do?
  • what are your competitors planning to do?
    • how easy is it for a competitor to enter the market?
    • how would you distinguish from prevent that competition?
  • why will the IP be important?
    • Exclusive/ barrier to entry
    • sales driver
    • Branding / customer communication and loyalty
  • balance of cost and benefits

Types of IP rights and their role for a business

• registered right (stronger )

  • patents
  • trade marks
  • registered designs
  • plant variety rights
    • 植物品種權(quán)（也稱為植物育種者權(quán)利）是一種專門為保護(hù)植物新品種而設(shè)計(jì)的知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)形式。

• Unregistered right

  • un registred design
  • database rights??
  • passing off
  • copyright
  • Semiconductor

Overview

• registered rights
  • require action to create
  • may be subject to an examination process
  • Require fee payment
  • Monopoly right
    • Broader protection
  • easuer to enforce
    • existence of right is proved by registration
• Examples
• Unregistered rights
  • come into effect automatically
    • May require particular actions by
      • creator
      • but these are usually implicit in the subject matter being created
  • typically only protect against copying
    • no protection against indent third party creation
  • generally harder / more complex to enforce
    • need to prove existence and ownership of the right
      • often long after its creation
    • need to prove copy
      • direct evidence of this is rarely available
  • may differences around the world
• Examples
  • copyright
  • unregistered design right
  • trade secrets

只要你不直接抄別人的，你就不影響他的copyright

Patents

• time limited negative monoply right
• granted for inventions
  • new
  • inventive
  • in exchange for suitable disclosure
    • whether better protected into the trade secret
• requires applications
  • subject to a potentially lengthy examination process
• strong potential to exclude competition
• Can be used to gain a substantial tax break
  • when your business becomes profitable

Whether, Where and When to Files?

• Mainly US and EU

• someone to go the Japan and China

• Then Australia can canada

• others

  • layer 1
    • india
  • layer 2
    • Korea, russia, and mexico
  • Layer 3

• not too late

  • risk
  • risk
  • may hold back marketing efforts

• not too early

  • not before the invention is sufficiently developed
    • Product ot a winner so wasted IP budget
    • product evolves and IPdoes not quite cover new version
    • data and plausibility?
    • 數(shù)據(jù)和可信度
  • from filing, procedural and

• In practices

  • too late is worse than too early

• what is the issue

  • infringing IP of others that can actually stop you

• but how to find out what is out there?

  • basic landscape searching may be informative at the outset
    • Areas to avoid
    • Gaps to exploit
  • focused FTO search as product nears completion
    • FTO
      • It is related to the budget
  • Patents vs Application
    • many rights are not granted yet
    • scope unclear
  • Known competitors and names are useful tools
    • but not the whole story
  • Main market first
    • GB
    • EP
    • US
    • WO

• inventorship

  • Patent ownership is determined by who the inventors are

Design

• product the appearance of the product or part of a product
• used to protect aesthetics rather than function
• very important if you are selling a consumer product
• but can also protect app icons and skins / pages

Trade marks

• protecting your brand and your relationship with your customers
  • if your business model can be replicated by competitors, then your brand may be the only thing that attracts custoerms o you rather than them
  • How are customers going to find your business
    • Except through a brand
  • Once customers find out about you
    • you need to ensure you protect that relationship
    • and the investment that you make in obtaining/ retaining those customers

What is protected in the deliver oo?

• a wide range of the domain for making the influencial
• trademark can last forever

Three layers of protection

• copyright
  • you have it ?
  • lifetime+70 years
• trademark
  • How long
  • Forever
• patent
  • 20 year
• design patents
  • 25 year in eu

• what to do if rejected?
• what is the way for

What type IP rights should you be thinking

• if there is scientifici or technological advance for solution?
  • patent
• do you have a product or service
  • trade marks
  • It need to have the customer relationship
• If your domain has the new different visual appearance
  • design rights

Housekeeping issues

• do you have any unregistered rights?
  • ensure proper documentation in place
• who owns the IP?
  • sort out ownership
• have any external contractors been used in the development of potential IP?
  • Ensure all potential ownership issues resoled at the

Summary

• In one word

  • think about what you have
  • and
  • what you might have

• Think about intellectural property exists in the business and concept

  • can it be protected or improved?
    • obtraining registered rights?
    • is it properly documented
    • are there any outstanding ownership issues?
  • what is the value of the IP to business

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