Start-ups: Protect Your Intellectual Property By Kaviya A - May 28, 2020 Last Updated at: Feb 02, 2021 16367 On 31st December, 2020, the IPAB (Intellectual Property Appellate Board) passed an order fixing statutory licensing rate for radio royalties. The order was passed after 10 applications were filed by Music Broadcast Ltd. and other radio broadcasters to fix royalties for communication of sound recordings to the public by way of broadcast through radio. Are you planning to start a new venture? It surely is an overwhelming process accompanied by tons of doubts, problems, and legitimate issues. Start-ups aren’t just about having a well-planned business structure. It involves many personal and legal issues. Imagine that your ideas work well, and you establish the start-up successfully. However, what happens when someone copies your ideas and original work? This is where the role of legal stability comes in. It is about protecting your intellectual property with the help of copyright. Before understanding this, let us first know what is intellectual property and copyright. What are copyright and intellectual property? Advantages of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Protection of intellectual property under IPR Ways of protection of intellectual property under IPR Copyright: Is it a safe choice? Conclusion What are copyright and intellectual property? Copyright means the ‘right to copy’ which is the protection of intellectual property of the owner or the creator of the work. And the intellectual property is the property that involves creations of the human intellect. However, intellectual property isn’t just a term but more than that. To protect this, the government grants several types of rights called Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Advantages of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) From the copyright protection for software to the protection of your piece of art, there are several advantages under the IPR: You can sell or license your work for revenue generation. It is an essential part of the marketing of the business. You can use intellectual property as security for loans. Protection of intellectual property under IPR The intellectual property allows you to secure your business to the fullest. You can protect your intellectual property under IPR in the following ways: Protection of intellectual property against infringement by other sources. IPR allows you to defend your property and claim it in the court of law. You can stop others from using your products without a legal agreement. For strategic alliances, you can use the trademark. Protect Your Intellectual Property Ways of protection of intellectual property under IPR You can easily protect the intellectual property in three ways which include: Copyrights It is the most opted form for protecting the original work under IPR. The government automatically grants protection for the intellectual work of the owner without having to register for it mandatorily. It provides the right of offering, selling, or lending the work personally or publicly. It is valid throughout the owner’s life, and 60 years of their death. Trademark It is an element that distinguishes your brand from other competitors in the market, or for that matter any other brand. You can easily register your brand to protect it from counterfeiting. Additionally, it gives exclusive rights of ownership, license, and selling to the owner. Moreover, it has a validity of 10 years and you can renew it after the term is over. Patent It is toughest to get patent protection, as it protects the idea and not just the expression. Moreover, it is important to have a novel idea that simplifies the lives of people along with other criteria to get patent rights. Further, it is valid for just 20 years, after which it becomes public. Additionally, it is territorial. Further, you cannot patent your work internationally. The intellectual property protection isn’t just about branding or revenue generation, but mainly for protecting the esteem of your business. It is quintessential to involve IP protection in the business plan, especially for start-ups. Copyright: Is it a safe choice? Among all the options, the people mostly for copyright due to its advantages over the others. So, whether it be copyright protection of software or literary works among several others, it is a viable option for one and all. Moreover, with the growth in technology, people often opt for the copyright protection of software instead of patent protection, as it protects the source with much trouble. So, if you are planning to get the copyright for your literary and creative work, here is a list of guidelines you have to follow: Register the application on form IV according to the first schedule of rules. Make separate applications for each work. Submit the required fee with every application. The power of attorney must sign the application. Conclusion To summarize, even though it is not mandatory to register your work under IPR or any of the laws, it is always a better option to protect your work. Moreover, whether it be the copyright protection of software or the lyrics of your song, the protection of intellectual property grants exclusive legal rights to the owner. This further allows the owner to claim against any acts of infringement of the copyright laws or the work. Therefore, It is a punishable offense. Whatsoever, these rights are limited to specific terms.