Businesses are much more than bricks and mortar and physical assets, particularly in today’s digital age. The unique aspects of your brand (intellectual property) are also highly valuable.
Unfortunately, there are copycats out there who may try to steal your hard work. One legal tool that you can use to prevent this is copyrights. What types of intellectual property can copyrights protect?
1. Original written works
Copyrights are often used to protect original written works. This may include the written material on your websites or apps, newsletters and other marketing materials that make your brand stand out.
2. Artistic creations
Artistic creations can also be copyrighted. For example, perhaps your business runs a TV ad with certain characters and music. By copyrighting these materials, you prevent others from copying your campaigns, which protects your brand identity.
3. Design elements
Copyrights can also be utilized to protect certain design elements of your brand. For instance, you may have unique logos that make your business stand out from the rest. It may have cost you a lot of time and effort to come up with these logos. That’s why protecting them is so important. All of the most successful brands have logos that are copyrighted.
The importance of protecting your intellectual property cannot be understated, and copyrights are only one part of this. You may also want to consider taking advantage of patents, trade secrets, Non-disclosure agreements, trademarks and much more.
Intellectual property protection is a nuanced area of law. That’s why it’s so important to seek legal guidance as you take steps to protect your brand.