Intellectual property law is about the rights of ownership over a person’s intellectual effort and output. Whilst you can’t own an idea, if you write that idea down then the law gives you the rights over the writing containing that idea – protecting the manifestation of an idea but NOT the idea itself.

Your intellectual property can be very valuable to your business and we often read media reports of one brand buying another for sometimes millions of pounds because of its appeal to its target market.

In the digital age an understanding of intellectual property and getting legal advice is very useful, and, if you are running an online business, it is essential.

Many businesses have found themselves in dire straits through not understanding intellectual property law. For most businesses you won’t be protecting multi-million pound intellectual property but  are you sure you own the website that the developer has created for you? Are the photos on your website used with the appropriate licenses? Does your site contain material ‘borrowed’ from other sites? Are logos and trade marks included with the written permission of the owners? Are you using a database that was created by someone else?

• Trade marks and copyright
• Intellectual property ownership and disputes