This article was originally published by New Designers. Follow this link to read the full article.
There's a lot to think about when launching a new product - co-ordinating manufacturers, finding stockists and of course marketing. Intellectual property is, perhaps understandably, not front of mind at such a time. Frequently we see young, creative companies failing to take the right steps to protect their IP at the crucial moment and living to regret it later when lookalike products appear in the marketplace.
This may be due, at least in part, to some common misconceptions that exist around IP - not least that it is complicated and too expensive to obtain. In fact, protecting the look of your product is not as difficult or costly as many believe and, if done well and at the right time, it can (and should) become a hugely valuable asset to any business.
If you want to know more about protecting the IP of your new design, and learn about some of the myths and misconceptions we at GJE most commonly encounter surrounding IP in product design, please follow this link to read the full article.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.