Free Intellectual Property Advice
Intellectual property is split into two sections, these are industrial property and copyrights.
Industrial property covers ideas, inventions and discoveries you may have made before anyone else. Copyright covers artistic creations, protecting the authors of such creations. These creations are common in design work, music, television, photography, film and literary creations such as a story, poem or script.
Intellectual property law protects the creators or inventors of such inventions and/or creations, restricting a third party copying a design and then profiting from it.
Intellectual property law can be complex and time consuming and even more so if you intend on patenting a piece of industrial property which may require hours of specialist research and testing to ensure if does not infringe on a patent which is already in place.
There are also several conditions which must be met before a patent is granted. These include a industrial applicability (the invention is useful or has a purpose), novelty (it must have a new characteristic that does not already exist in other patents), inventive step (a person with non industry knowledge must not be able to invent the product), patentable subject matter (there must be some material which falls under the patent laws). Inventions which exploit public health and safety will not receive patent protection.
If someone has copied or is now profiting from something you have invented or created you will have a legal basis to request they cease and desist. You should seek legal advice when pursuing this as you may also be able to claim for any profits they have made from their actions or compensation for any damage you or your business may have suffered due to this infringement.
Infringing a copyright or patent such as downloading music, producing goods such as fake designer clothing or selling fake goods which are claiming to be the originals are all serious offences. Goods and profits can be seized and you can face a high penalty and legal costs.
If you are unsure of the laws on using copyrighted material such as placing a photograph in a publication then you should contact the owner of the material and seek legal advice in order to get a licence to use such material.