Check out the topics covered in this article:
What is intellectual property?
Can a brand be considered intellectual property?
How important is it for a technology company to protect your brand?
5 tips to ensure your brand is protected as intellectual property
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What is intellectual property?
Intellectual property is a demarcation of legal protection that serves as a cameroon whatsapp number database of regulation and recognition of authorship for tangible or non-tangible goods .
This means that any work or production with inventive activity can be protected from copying or plagiarism, ensuring that the person or company that conceived it maintains the right to commercialize it or exploit it financially as they wish.
Intellectual property is divided into two broad categories by the global body that oversees this issue, the World Intellectual Property Organization. These categories are:
Copyright : related to works of an artistic and literary nature;
Industrial Property : related to commerce and companies.
Can a brand be considered intellectual property?
Yes .
Trademarks are part of the works legally protected within the concept of intellectual property.
Here in Brazil, trademarks are defined and regulated by INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property). According to its definition, trademarks are those that present:
“ a distinctive sign whose main functions are to identify the origin and distinguish products or services from other identical, similar or related products or services of different origin. ”
In other words, any sign that helps separate one product from another can be considered part of the brand, such as:
Brand name;
Name of products and services;
Color palette;
Logos;
Symbols;
Slogans;
How important is it for a technology company to protect your brand?
In the not-so-distant past, the issue of trademarks and intellectual property was a little simpler. Most products were more physical and their characteristics were more tangible and real. Even literary and artistic works were conceived and appreciated in their printed versions.
In this new digital era, many services do not even exist in the physical world. Some of them are even abstractions that only exist in the digital world. Technology companies sell software, licenses, services, etc. Everything has become quite fluid and volatile.
As a result, brands have also transformed and gained new facets. With the speed of information exchange today, if your brand is not well protected, it is quite possible that there is another company launching a similar service and gaining its space in the market .
Therefore, it is even more important in this context that both your brand and your products and services are duly registered and patented.
5 tips to ensure your brand is protected as intellectual property
1. Avoid descriptive brands
Illustrative image with a Thrush explaining the concept of not putting descriptive brand names using Microsoft as an example
The idea of a brand is to be original. Windows, for example, is a product that is part of the Microsoft brand, but despite meaning “windows” in English, it has nothing to do with the product “window” itself. The name is a metaphor for the service. Therefore, you should always think creatively so as not to give it a literal name. After all, the simpler and more descriptive the name, the greater the chance that someone is already using it !
2. Choose a distinctive brand that complements your company’s values
Comparison of Coca-Cola and Pepsi brands with pictures.
Pepsi and Coca-Cola sell very similar products: cola soft drinks. However, even though they are in the same industry, one brand has nothing to do with the other. This is because a brand goes beyond visual components such as logos and slogans. The messages, values and associations evoked by the brand also make up intellectual property . Therefore, to avoid potential legal problems, create other environments for your brand.
3. Check the novelty of your brand
Thrush checking its mark. Illustration.
New brands are emerging all the time . So before you launch a brand, check that it is not already registered and avoid infringing on an existing brand. After you launch, monitor your competitors to see if your intellectual property rights are being respected .
4. Ensure your brand is properly registered
Thrush with notebook on the INPI website.
For a brand to be considered intellectual property, it is not enough for it to simply exist on the market. On the contrary, you must register all the elements that make up your brand with the agency that regulates and patents intellectual property in Brazil: the INPI .
The INPI is a government agency that is responsible for any registration of Industrial Property and patenting in the national territory. To do so, you only need to go to the INPI website, select the “brands” option and follow the basic guide provided by the government.
5. Use intellectual property signs in your brand and services
Trademarks accepted by INPI as intellectual property
Whenever possible, use signs that indicate that the brand or service is intellectual property . Such signs serve to indicate that it has been registered with some regulatory body for intellectual property in the region.
The valid signs in Brazil are:
(Copyright): Used for copyright protection;
(Registered trademark): Means that a brand or product is duly registered with the INPI;However, use these signs only while the registration is valid at INPI. Using these symbols without having a registration may be characterized as a crime of ideological falsehood.
Conclusion
As we have seen, trademarks are one of the elements that can (and should) be registered as intellectual property. If you have a company and your trademark is not yet registered, you should know that this could cause major headaches if a competitor decides to copy it. Therefore, register your trademark properly, especially if you are a technology company, a market in which innovation and inventiveness are important to distinguish your business.