Taking care of your intellectual property

How would you cope if you suddenly found the market flooded with cheaper copies of your products or if you found that someone else was legitimately using your trademark?.

How would you cope if you suddenly found the market flooded with cheaper copies of your products or if you found that someone else was legitimately using your trademark?.

The potential could be catastrophic, but it can easily happen if you are careless with your intellectual property, says Huw Evans, of commercial law experts Wragge and Co.

Huw will be focusing on key aspects of intellectual property and how to manage the risks of subcontracting at Subcon 2007 on Thursday 3 May as part of a free seminar programme that is open to all registered visitors.

Subcon, the international show for buyers of contract manufacturing services, takes place from 1-3 May at the NEC, Birmingham, and covers everything from machined parts, electronic assemblies, castings, plastic mouldings and metal fabrications, through to full manufacturing services, design and build, and rapid prototyping.

"The problem is that a lot of people don't even recognise what their intellectual property is, or what it is worth", says Huw.

In his presentation at Subcon on Thursday 3 May Huw will look at key aspects of intellectual property in product design, manufacture and branding and how to manage the risks of subcontracting.

"One thing that can happen when you are dealing with a subcontractor in a poorly regulated country is that you suddenly find a lot of counterfeit product on the market coming from the people you are contracting with".

"If you are going into another market where you might be sharing designs or know-how, you have to do so in a way in which you can best protect it".

"Then if someone does start copying your designs or using your trademark you are in a position to stop it".

"Another nasty thing that can happen is that someone else registers you trademark in another country".

"It is a common problem, and a lot of major brands have fallen into that trap".

"Not only does it mean you can't sell your products in that market, but it can also scupper any plans you may have to manufacture there because you are violating their trademark", says Huw.

"Of course, if someone is pirating a patented product then while you may face a challenge in attacking the problem at its root, if they start making the product for someone else outside that country you may well be able to stop it coming into your main European or US markets - the problem can be contained".

"But even if your patents and trademarks are safely protected, if you start manufacturing with someone else you are going to be sharing know-how that can't perhaps be registered in any way".

"If you don't have an element of trust with the people you share your knowledge with then you can start losing control of the situation".

"That comes down to your own due diligence - you have to know who you are dealing with".

"If you work hand in hand with a supplier on developing a product, you don't want them to end up with the intellectual property instead of you".

"Otherwise, you might find that when you want to change manufacturer you can't - or you could suddenly find they are flooding the market with the same product but cheaper - and you can't do a thing about it because they legitimately own the IP".

It is not just a question of checking that you are protecting your own intellectual property, it is also important to make sure that you are not infringing anyone else's".

"Big companies tend to get very upset if they find that their buyers are doing something that infringes someone else's rights - especially when they go to great efforts to get people to respect their rights".

The main message though, says Huw, is to be aware of intellectual property issues and where they may arise.

"The best way to solve these problems is to avoid them in the first place", he says.

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