FEATURE
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
LIBRARIES – NOT JUST BOOKS You might not have thought about libraries as the go-to place for your business information needs but there are many resources available – from books, e-books and e- audio on a range of topics, to free access to newspapers and magazines online. Your local library service can also help you find
information and signpost you to sources of local support. Additionally, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire library members can access a range of specialist resources including COBRA (Complete Business Reference Advisor), which has factsheets on all aspects of running a business, as well as other information sources referred to elsewhere in this article.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:
WHAT IS IT AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? The majority of businesses will have intellectual property, whether branding such as a logo or name, product designs, artwork or written work under copyright. Protecting your IP means that other people can’t use it without your permission,
preventing others from capitalising on your great idea. On the other side of the coin, you need to make sure that someone hasn’t already had the same lightbulb moment as you, as infringing their rights could prove very costly. There are three main types of intellectual property which can be registered with the
Intellectual Property Office (IPO) – patents, trademarks and registered designs. Patents protect things that can be made or used; trademarks protect branding, such
as a name or logo; and registered designs cover the “look” of a product. There is a charge for registering these. Copyright protection is an automatic right and free of charge. It covers written work –
both literary and otherwise – sound and visual recordings, artistic works and broadcasts. But before you get to registration of a patent, trademark or design, you need to
carry out searches on the relevant database to see if anyone is already using something similar to your idea. You’ll need to think outside the box and use a variety of search terms to ensure a
through scan for what is known as “prior art” – in other words, whether your idea is unique to you and not too close to anything already registered by someone else. In the case of trademarks, these are registered according to a number of classes dependent on the intended scope of usage, so think about how you may want to expand your business, as it is cheaper to apply for multiple classes at once. For example, if you run a coffee shop, there is one class for the retail outlet itself, but
if you wanted to sell mugs featuring your branding, you’d need a second class to cover that. The main places to do these free searches for UK registration are as follows:
PATENTS
worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search
TRADEMARKS
www.gov.uk/search-for-trademark
REGISTERED DESIGNS
www.gov.uk/search-registered-design
48 business network May 2021
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