What do we need to do in order to protect our product from being copied!?
After investing a few years and an impressive amount of capitol in a product you have created , you do not want to wake up and find someone has copied your “pride and joy” and created an identical twin.
So, make an appointment with the professionals i.e. solicitor and accountant and receive the required info.
The law governing the issue in the UK serves to protect your achievement with the aid of international symbols added to your product to represent Copyright and Trademark.
Enclosed the following highlights from an article taken from IPR web site.
Copyright for your business
How do I get copyright protection for my work?
Copyright is an automatic right in the UK (and much of the rest of the world). Unlike most other intellectual property rights, you don’t have to apply for copyright and there’s no register of copyright holders.
It’s a good idea to mark your work with the international copyright symbol © followed by your name and the year of creation. This will identify you as the owner of the copyright which will make it easier for a potential user to seek your permission.
For non-print material, where the © would not be visible, you could use other ways of presenting copyright information. For example, some websites require users to agree to their copyright terms and conditions before they can actually buy any music or film from their website.
Leaving a dated copy of your work with a bank or solicitor, or posting a copy of your work to yourself by special delivery, leaving the dated package unopened, may help to show in any legal proceedings that you had the work in your possession at that time. It is important to note that this does not prove that you are the author or owner of the work.
International copyright protection
Under international copyright conventions, material created by UK nationals or residents is protected in many countries. It may help in certain countries if you have marked your work with the international copyright symbol ©, your name and the year your work was created.
If you think your copyright has been infringed you will need to take action yourself against infringers, using the laws of the country in which the alleged breach of your copyright takes place.
Database right protection
A database may be protected by database right as well as copyright.
A database is defined as a collection of independent works, data or other materials which are:
• arranged in a systematic or methodical way
• individually accessible by electronic or other means
A literary work consisting of a database is original if, and only if, by reason of the selection or arrangement of the contents of the database, the database constitutes the author’s own intellectual creation – see the page in this guide on copyright protection.
For database right protection to apply, you must have put ‘substantial investment in obtaining, verifying and/or presenting’ its contents. Like copyright, there is no registration for database right – it is automatic and begins as soon as the data exists in a recorded form.
Database right protection lasts 15 years from the end of the year in which the database was completed. However, if you then publish the database during that 15-year period, the term is 15 years from the end of the year of publication.
If you compile a database that is a collection of copyrighted works, e.g. a database of modern poetry, you need to make sure that you have permission from the copyright owners to use their material.
Similarly, people using protected databases need to be aware of the rights of both the copyright and database right owners. Note, however, that someone can lawfully use part of a published database for non-commercial research or educational purposes as long as they acknowledge the source.
Is this a guaranty?? No! But it is the first and most important step in securing your hard invested efforts and capitol.
