The IP toolkit for start-ups

Got a business idea, product or brand you want to protect?

This Lunch and Learn with Barbara Bouffard is designed to help you understand the basics of intellectual property (IP) and make smart decisions early, without wasting time or money on the wrong type of protection.

Topics covered in this session

• The different forms of protection: Patents (for inventions), trademarks (for brand identity), registered designs (for product appearance) and copyright (for original works).

• Is your invention unique? Why a worldwide patent search is your most cost-effective insurance policy. Most inventors lose money by filing for things that already exist.

• The strategic value of "Patent Pending": How "Patent Pending" status can help discourage copycats and show investors you're serious before your final protection is even granted.

• Commercialising: Different ways to generate a return from your innovation, including how the licensing business model works as a commercial strategy.

About the speaker

Barbara is the co-managing director of Innovate Design, a firm she co-founded 20 years ago to support inventors in bringing their ideas to commercial reality.

With an MBA from the University of Bath and a degree in Business from Bordeaux, Barbara has spent two decades bridging the gap between creative minds and commercial success.

Her mission is to ensure every innovator has the tools to protect their ideas early, affordably and effectively.

Watch more expert webinars

Access a growing collection of expert-led webinars covering marketing, sales, finance, growth and more – ready whenever you are.

Transcript

Lightly edited for clarity.

Ryan: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to today's Lunch and Learn. My name is Ryan, and I will be your host today.

For those of you attending Lunch and Learn for the first time, Enterprise Nation is a vibrant community platform for start-ups and small businesses.

Today, I'm really pleased to introduce Barbara Bouffard, who is the co-managing director of Innovate Design.

In this session, Barbara will help you understand the basics of intellectual property, or IP, and start making decisions about it early.

As always, if you have questions during the webinar, post them in the chat and we'll do our best to answer them at the end.

The webinar is recorded, and we will send out a follow-up email later today with the recording and any further resources.

So over to you, Barbara.

Barbara Bouffard: Thank you, Ryan, for the introduction. I'm going to go straight into it.

This is me. I'm the co-managing director and co-founder of Innovate Design, and this year the business will be 25 years old.

In a former life, I had a degree in marketing, and more recently I completed an MBA at the University of Bath.

You'll probably hear my French accent, but I've been living in the UK for over 30 years now.

I can't see many of you, but I'm hoping some of you already have some understanding of intellectual property. Today, we're going to cover the different forms of IP and how you can commercialise and leverage that IP to strengthen your route to market.

Some of you may already have heard of patents, trademarks, registered designs or copyright. So let's go back to basics.

Intellectual property protects creations of the mind. It is a fairly recent concept in the grand scheme of things.

We have four types of IP: patents, trademarks, registered designs and copyright.

These are the terms used in the UK. In other countries, the terminology can differ. For example, in the US they talk about utility patents, and instead of registered design they call it a design patent. But they are basically covering the same kinds of protections.

So why does IP matter?

IP is a type of intangible asset. Entrepreneurs and SMEs have enormous opportunities to capitalise on these assets they create, but a lack of knowledge often means they miss out on those opportunities.

Let's start with patents, which are often seen as the holy grail of IP. Why apply for a patent?

A patent may help if you want to take legal action against someone who uses your invention without your permission. That includes selling it or manufacturing it in a territory where the patent was granted.

You should also know that a patent has a maximum life of 20 years. After that, it lapses and becomes public knowledge.

A useful example is GoPro. They patented multiple aspects of their action camera, from the lens technology to the mounting systems. That helped keep competitors at bay while the company built a brand synonymous with action sports and adventure filming.

So what is patentable? Your invention must be new. It must not have been made publicly available anywhere in the world.

That means it can't already have been published. This becomes important if, for example, you run a crowdfunding campaign first to raise money. If your new idea is already in the public domain before you file, then you may lose the ability to patent it.

It also needs to be inventive. That means it cannot simply be an obvious change to something that already exists.

And it must be something that can be made and used, or a technical process or method of doing something.

What a patent cannot protect includes literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, because there are other forms of IP for those.

It also cannot protect a way of doing business, playing a card game or simply thinking.

It cannot protect a method of medical treatment or diagnosis, a discovery, scientific theory or mathematical method.

It also cannot protect the way information is presented, an essentially biological process such as cross-breeding animals or plant varieties, or software with a purely non-technical purpose.

Now let's look at how a patent can be useful, using the case study of Dyson versus Hoover.

In the 2000s, Dyson patented its cyclonic vacuum cleaner technology. Hoover later launched a "triple vortex" vacuum, which Dyson claimed infringed its patents.

The UK High Court ruled in Dyson's favour, and Hoover had to pay compensation and stop selling the infringing model.

So with that patent, Dyson protected its innovation and market dominance. It sent a very strong message to competitors about copying patents, and it reinforced Dyson's brand as an industry leader in vacuum technology.

For many companies, patents are more than just legal protection. They are business assets that can keep competitors at bay, strengthen brand and market position, generate revenue through licensing, and protect the value of R&D investment.

So that is patents.

Now let's move to registered design, which is the second form of protection.

A registered design protects the appearance of a product. Your design must be new.

Registration can include one or more of the following: the shape, the configuration, how design elements are arranged together, decoration, colour or pattern.

What you cannot register includes offensive material, such as swear words or obscene images, designs making use of national flags without permission, official emblems or hallmarks such as the Olympic rings, and the functionality of a design.

You must renew your design registration every five years, and it can be protected for up to 25 years in total.

Let me show you some examples of registered designs. As soon as I describe them, you should recognise the products.

The first is the very iconic shape of the Apple iPhone. The second is the classic Coca-Cola bottle, which again is immediately recognisable.

These brands used multiple forms of IP. In the case of Apple, that includes patents, registered designs and trademarks.

Now let's look at trademarks.

A registered trademark allows you to take legal action against anyone who uses your brand without your permission, including counterfeiters. You've all heard of brands like Louis Vuitton taking action over fake goods coming in from overseas.

A trademark also allows you to use the registered symbol next to your brand to show that it is yours and to warn others not to use it.

Like a patent, you can also sell or license a trademark.

A trademark protects brand identity. It can cover words and names, logos, slogans, shapes, sounds and colours. But it does not protect the functionality or physical shape of the product. It protects the elements that identify the brand.

Again, a trademark cannot be offensive. It cannot simply describe the goods or services, for example using the word "cotton" if you are a cotton textile company.

It cannot be misleading, such as using the word "organic" if the products are not organic.

It cannot be too common or non-distinctive, such as "we lead the way".

It cannot be just a generic shape associated with your business, such as the shape of an apple. And again, it cannot use national flags, emblems or hallmarks without permission.

Here are some iconic examples. The Apple logo and the word Apple for technology products. The trademark for the name was filed in 1977.

Why is it valuable? According to Forbes, the brand is now worth over $500 billion.

And then Coca-Cola again. The word mark was filed in 1893, and the bottle design came later in 1915. That brand is now worth around $90 billion.

The last major form is copyright.

Copyright is something you get automatically when you create original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, including illustrations and photography.

It also applies to original non-literary works such as software, web content and databases, as well as sound recordings, films and TV recordings, broadcasts, and the layout of published editions of written, dramatic and musical works.

In most countries, copyright lasts for the life of the creator plus 50 years, depending on the type of work.

Like other forms of protection, it helps stop people from copying your work, distributing it, renting or lending it, performing or showing it in public, making adaptations of it, or putting it on the internet without permission.

Copyright can be a really powerful part of a high-revenue business.

A good case study is Harry Potter and Warner Bros. J.K. Rowling partnered with Warner Bros, and together they built films, games, merchandise and even theme parks.

That whole brand is now estimated to be worth over $25 billion, so it was clearly a very successful partnership between J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.

So to summarise the four types of IP:

• Patents last up to 20 years and are renewed yearly after the fourth year.

• Trademarks can last indefinitely with renewal every 10 years.

• Registered designs can last up to 25 years with renewal every five years.

• Copyright arises automatically.

In the UK, the relevant office is the Intellectual Property Office, or UK IPO. To file any form of intellectual property in the UK, it is done in English through the UK IPO.

Now let's think about how you protect your IP. First, when should you consider protection?

At the beginning of the product development process, IP protection can help you discuss your idea more safely with manufacturers, investors and other industry people.

Most importantly, you should think about protection before you put your idea into the public domain. As I said earlier, once something is public, you may no longer be able to patent it.

You should also consider the options early and decide what form of IP is right for what. A registered design, for example, is often something that comes later because the look and shape of the product become clearer later in development.

We always advise doing research before filing for any form of IP.

And finally, speak to a professional. In the UK, that usually means someone regulated through the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, or you can contact the UK IPO itself.

You can apply directly through the UK Intellectual Property Office, but it is usually recommended that you use professional help.

Again, though, the IPO is the official body responsible for granting and regulating IP rights in the UK.

Now, patent pending status is something especially relevant to start-ups and entrepreneurs as they prepare products for market.

When you file a patent, you get "patent pending" from day one. Then there is an examination process, and you need to be aware that a patent can take somewhere between two and four years to be granted.

You usually get a first report from the IPO around the nine-month mark.

But in the meantime, from day one, you can say "patent pending". That gives you protection, and once granted, it is backdated to the first filing date. That priority date is very important.

That means you can start validating your idea while the patent is progressing. You can seek feedback from manufacturers or investors and continue refining the product.

What often happens is that people get stuck on the original patent and feel unable to evolve the product because they think any change will fall outside its scope. But that can stop them developing a truly good product.

Patent pending status also helps you signal authority early and can support conversations with partners.

And finally, it can be a relatively low-cost way to get started. You do not have to spend a huge amount at the beginning. For example, a self-filing approach with professional drafting support might be around the £1,500 mark, which can at least get the process started.

Now let's talk about searching before you file.

For patents, it is important to do a worldwide patent search.

When the IPO examines your application, it will do a worldwide search because one of the requirements of a patent is novelty. So even if an idea has never been commercialised, if someone else has already patented it, you may not be able to patent it yourself.

So we recommend doing the patent search early so you can see what is already out there. There are two reasons for that.

• First, you make sure you are not infringing someone else's patent.

• Second, it helps you frame your own idea. You might find similar patents, but then explain, "Yes, we know patent X exists, but my idea is different because…"

That helps you define the unique aspect of your invention more clearly.

You can do a patent search yourself. There are free tools such as Espacenet and Google Patents. You could also ask an LLM, although I'd be careful about how much you share.

Usually, we recommend a professional search because there is skill involved in using the right terminology, synonyms and phrasing. Like everything else, the quality of the query will affect the quality of the result.

And if you use an LLM, make sure your privacy settings are correct. You do not want to be revealing your idea at that point.

The same principle applies to trademarks. It is a good idea to do a search beforehand to make sure you are not infringing someone else's rights.

There is a free tool on the WIPO website, and you also need to consider classification, because trademarks are filed by class depending on industry, for example gardening, healthcare and so on.

Now let's move on to how you can actually use your IP commercially.

You need to think of your IP almost like a house. In fact, a patent, for example, sits on your balance sheet as an asset to the company or to you personally.

Like a property, you can rent it out or sell it. Your IP can fence off your "property", and if someone wants to use it, they need to pay for that right.

There are two main types of licensing: technology licensing and brand licensing.

• Technology licensing usually refers to patent licensing, where you let someone else use your patented idea in return for royalties.

• Brand licensing is something you may have heard of more often. That is when a brand such as Puma or Adidas allows someone else to use its name, logo or identity under licence.

There are also two words you should know: the licensor is the one granting the licence, and the licensee is the one receiving it.

There is no single standard contract here. Everything is negotiable. You can have several licence agreements, they can be limited by territory, and they can be structured in different ways.

Really, you need to think of licensing as a partnership, or even a wedding. It is usually a long-term arrangement, and both sides need to feel that it is win-win.

The Walt Disney business is a classic example of licensing on a massive scale. In 2023, Disney's licensing business generated around $62 billion.

Authentic Brands, which includes names like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Sports Illustrated, reported $28 billion in 2023. So licensing is a huge industry.

Now let's look at a more start-up level example of how IP can generate revenue.

A very famous example is Dyson. When James Dyson first invented his dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, he did not want to become a manufacturer. He wanted to license the idea.

He approached many companies, including Hoover in the UK, but they all declined because their business model did not just depend on selling vacuum cleaners, it depended on selling the replacement bags as well.

So he went to Japan and found a company called Apex, and he also found a company in the US called Phantom Technology. He licensed his technology to those manufacturers and earned royalties, which then funded his own factory in the UK.

That is a brilliant example of how licensing can help build the business.

Now, brand licensing is slightly different.

If you are a small start-up or entrepreneur, you are not going to be licensing out your own brand in the same way as Disney or Adidas, because your brand is not yet that well known.

But there is another angle here. You can license in someone else's brand to help launch your product faster.

A very good example is the George Foreman Grill. The product was invented by Michael Boehm. He was trying to launch it on his own but was not getting traction. It was basically a grill that could cook on multiple sides.

He then licensed in the George Foreman brand. That had a massive impact on speed to market, and the product went on to sell over 100 million units.

So if you are trying to get to market quickly, licensing in a known brand can help, especially if that brand gives you distribution, marketing support and instant credibility.

Now, a quick word about infringement. We've talked about how IP helps protect your idea against people copying it or using it without permission.

Enforcement is a bit like calling the police when someone trespasses on your property. If someone infringes your IP, there are different courses of action.

The first is usually a commercial arrangement out of court. This is what you want if possible. You discover that someone is using your patent, trademark or copyrighted material, and you approach them to say, "You may not realise it, but this belongs to me. Maybe you can continue using it, but I would want royalties."

Often, companies would prefer that than to face a legal dispute or reputational issue.

The alternative is legal action. The problem is that it can be very expensive, and you will be the one paying for that process.

The infringing party may have to pay compensation and remove or destroy all relevant copies or products, and deliberate infringement can even lead to criminal prosecution.

But there is no patent police. It is up to you to enforce your rights.

For example, Dyson has a huge IP department and actively monitors trade shows, catalogues and products to check that nobody is copying their patents.

For smaller businesses, there are also some tools. Amazon, for example, has an infringement reporting form and an IP accelerator programme to help you protect trademarks and brands on its platform.

So, is a patent worth it? Some people say that if it costs a lot of money to defend, what is the point?

I want to mention Mandy Haberman here, who created the Anywayup Cup. It was a revolutionary non-spill cup for children.

She first tried to license the idea but was turned down by 18 companies. So she went ahead on her own.

She became successful, and with that success came infringement. She took another company to court, which was a financial gamble, but she won.

That allowed her to go on to sell around 60 million cups, and that helped make the business a real success.

There is a quote from her that I think is worth sharing:

"As an inventor, it is important to understand how intellectual property works and to do as much as you can to protect your ideas before you share information. By protecting my technologies, I was able to secure my position in the market and reap the benefit from years of hard work."

So to summarise, you now know what IP is, why it is valuable, the different types of IP, how to apply for protection, how to define your IP, how existing companies have used it successfully, and how you can use that knowledge to innovate.

But innovation is not the same as invention, and having a patent alone is not enough. You want to sell. You want to make a profit.

To do that, you need the synergy of three things: feasibility, viability and desirability.

• First, feasibility: can your idea actually be made?

• Second, financial viability: can you create it at a cost that makes sense and sell it profitably?

• Third, desirability: is there a market big enough that is willing to buy it at the price you need?

You need to consider all three. That's what we've been doing at Innovate for the last 25 years.

We are a product design consultancy specialising in helping entrepreneurs and businesses with physical and AI-enabled products. We have a large prototyping studio in Salisbury, and we have an in-house team of patent drafters, design engineers and digital development specialists.

Finally, if you want us to do a free consultation and review your IP and point you in the right direction, we can do that under NDA.

There is a QR code. If you scan that, it takes you to a form. You receive an NDA from us so your idea is kept confidential. You can then send information about your project and have a consultation with one of our innovation coaches to guide you on the best next steps for your IP.

Or you can contact me by email at barbara@innovate-design.com. Now I'm ready for questions.

Ryan: Amazing, Barbara. Thank you. That was really interesting and a really great presentation.

A question has come in the chat saying: if one registers their company name as a trademark but not the logo, is their logo protected if the logo image has the company name in the image?

Barbara: No. The logo would still be excluded from the trademark if you only registered the name. So no.

Ryan: Perfect. Thank you. And then a follow-up to that: if one needs to trademark a logo, is it best to do the actual image as well as a black and white version of the logo? They think it's called a series.

Barbara: I think it depends on what you find in your search.

The first thing is always to do the search and see what already exists. Based on that, you can then decide whether you need to do both versions.

Ryan: Perfect. Good to know. Thank you. And then Jack just came in to say, "Impressive presentation."

Barbara, another question: what would you say the most common misconceptions founders have around IP are?

Barbara: I think the biggest misconception is understanding which form of IP is appropriate for which part of the business. And also when to apply the relevant IP.

For example, trademarks. Often founders worry about trademarks very early on in the process, when the concept, the positioning and even the name may still evolve.

A trademark is more than a name or logo. It represents the whole brand. If you think about Apple, for example, it represents innovative, premium technology. They arrived at that through a long process of positioning and iteration.

So thinking about trademarks too early, before you have really finalised the concept and your market position, can sometimes be a waste of time.

Patents are a bit different. The technical idea is something you want to think about fairly early, so that you can put your flag in the sand, so to speak.

Ryan: Perfect. Very helpful, Barbara.

That has been a really great presentation and very interesting. I think there's a lot for people to take away, which is fantastic.

I'd really recommend anyone who has further questions to have a follow-up chat with Barbara. I did pop your Enterprise Nation profile and LinkedIn into the chat for anyone who wants to connect further.

As I said earlier, the slides and the recording will go out later this afternoon in an email, so keep an eye out for that.

But a big thank you to everyone for joining, and a very big thank you to Barbara for the presentation. That was really interesting.

Barbara: My pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Explore our webinar library

Unlock more on-demand sessions designed to help you sharpen your skills, grow your business and stay one step ahead. Find more Lunch and Learn webinars