What is intellectual property (IP)?

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind including inventions, brand names, logos, designs, written content, music, and confidential information that can be legally protected.

Why is protecting IP important for my business?

IP often forms the backbone of a business’s competitive edge. Proper protection ensures others can’t use, copy or exploit your creations without permission, and helps increase your company’s value.

What types of intellectual property can be protected?

Common forms include trademarks (for branding), patents (for inventions), design rights (for the appearance of products), copyright (for creative works), and confidential information or trade secrets.

How can I check if my business has IP worth protecting?

We offer IP audits to assess what rights you already have, what needs formal protection, and how your assets can be better managed or monetised.

Do I need to register my IP to protect it?

Some rights, like copyright, exist automatically. Others such as trademarks, patents, and registered designs require formal registration to give you full legal protection and enforcement options.

What can I do if someone infringes my IP?

Working closely with our Intellectual Property Disputes team, we can help you enforce your rights through cease and desist letters, negotiations, or litigation if necessary ensuring your business interests are protected.

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Intellectual property law

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Our specialist intellectual property (IP) solicitors help businesses and individuals identify, protect, and maximise the value of their intellectual property assets. These assets may include brands, trade marks, inventions, designs, confidential information, and creative works such as literary, artistic or musical content.

We focus on proactive, non-contentious IP management, helping clients put the right protection in place before problems arise, so their assets are safeguarded and can be used and developed to their full potential and to support long-term plans and business growth.

We also have contentious IP lawyers, should the need arise and a dispute arise over a brand, trade mark, design etc.

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Identifying and maximising the value of your IP

For many clients, the first step is understanding exactly what intellectual property they own and how it's being used. We help identify the full scope of your IP, not just products and designs, but also your brand name, logo, reputation, business plans, know-how, and even customer data.

Our team assesses whether these valuable assets are protected and being fully leveraged for commercial benefit. As the business landscape becomes increasingly digital and innovation-led, effective IP protection is more important than ever.

We offer comprehensive IP audits tailored to your needs, whether you're a start-up, SME, or large multinational business, to help you unlock hidden value and minimise risk.

Our expertise

Trademarks >

Patents >

Design rights >

Infringements >

Why Wright Hassall? >

Trade marks

Trade marks protect various forms of branding, including business and product names, logos, shapes, sounds, and even smells. After identifying key branding elements, our IP solicitors can help you register your trade marks in the appropriate jurisdictions, ensuring they are protected against mis-use. Our team conducts thorough searches to identify conflicts and assists in registering your trademarks in relevant categories.

Domain Names

Domain names are a related form of IP protection that overlaps with trademark registrations. Having a registered trademark makes it easier to prevent cyber-squatters from hijacking domain names relevant to your business.

Copyright

Copyright protects fixed or recorded creative activities, such as written text, software code, drawings, photographs, films, broadcasts, and music. Copyright arises automatically upon creation if the work is capable of protection, without the need for registration.

Patents

A patent grants an inventor the right to stop others from making, using, or selling their invention. Disclosure of an invention before filing a patent application can result in the loss of potential protection. Our specialist lawyers and patent attorneys can help you navigate the patent application process, ensuring your innovations are adequately protected.

Design rights & product designs

Design protection, often underused in the UK, safeguards the shape or outward appearance of a product. While basic unregistered protection arises automatically, stronger protection is available through registration. Our solicitors help you understand and secure design protection before launching your products to market.

Dealing with intellectual property infringements

IP rights are infringed when protected works are used, copied, or exploited without consent. Our top-ranked IP dispute resolution team works proactively and cost-effectively to handle such infringements, ensuring your rights are enforced and protected.

Why choose Wright Hassall?

Wright Hassall is one of the UK’s largest full-service law firms, with the resources and flexibility to assist businesses of all sizes across various industry sectors. We help everyone from lone inventors and owner-managed businesses to multinational corporations. Our approach is tailored to each client, ensuring a deep understanding of your business and IP needs.

FAQs

What is intellectual property (IP)?

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind including inventions, brand names, logos, designs, written content, music, and confidential information that can be legally protected.
Why is protecting IP important for my business?

IP often forms the backbone of a business’s competitive edge. Proper protection ensures others can’t use, copy or exploit your creations without permission, and helps increase your company’s value.
What types of intellectual property can be protected?

Common forms include trademarks (for branding), patents (for inventions), design rights (for the appearance of products), copyright (for creative works), and confidential information or trade secrets.
How can I check if my business has IP worth protecting?

We offer IP audits to assess what rights you already have, what needs formal protection, and how your assets can be better managed or monetised.
Do I need to register my IP to protect it?

Some rights, like copyright, exist automatically. Others such as trademarks, patents, and registered designs require formal registration to give you full legal protection and enforcement options.
What can I do if someone infringes my IP?

Working closely with our Intellectual Property Disputes team, we can help you enforce your rights through cease and desist letters, negotiations, or litigation if necessary ensuring your business interests are protected.

Contact us

Ann Critchell-Ward

Key contact

Ann is an Intellectual Property and Commercial Law specialist with over 20 years’ experience.

Phone

01926 732558

Email Address

ann.critchell-ward@wrighthassall.co.uk

Meet the team

"Recognised for its deft handling of a range of matters, including software licensing, trade mark prosecution and brand strategy. Clients say: 'They very quickly got an understanding of our business and products.'"

Chambers UK