Database rights

Recognising the commercial value of data

Customer information, research, pricing data and other organised datasets can represent years of work and considerable investment.

Database rights can provide protection against certain types of unauthorised copying or reuse, particularly where data plays an important role in how a business operates, makes decisions or competes.

Who controls the data you’ve built?

Ownership can become less clear when information comes from several sources or is created and shared with suppliers, customers or business partners.

Questions around those rights can affect how freely the information can be used, shared with others or turned into something of further value.

Endorsement and image rights

Managing reputation and commercial opportunity

Names, images and reputations can carry significant value, particularly when connected with established brands, major campaigns and high-profile partnerships.

The increase in digital content also means an image or endorsement can quickly appear across different platforms, countries and campaigns.

Setting clear boundaries from the outset

Questions often arise around where an image can appear, how long it can be used and whether it can be associated with other brands or products.

Unclear boundaries can result in someone’s image or reputation being used more widely than originally expected, potentially creating both financial and reputational problems.

Licensing and merchandising

Unlocking value from intellectual property

Media rights agreements

Making content work across platforms and markets

Passing off and IP disputes

Defending brand value and market position

Patents

Turning innovation into competitive advantage

New products, technology and processes can represent years of research, expertise and financial investment.

Patent protection can give inventions significant commercial value, not only by limiting what competitors can copy, but also through licensing, partnerships, investment and other opportunities.

Timing can determine what can be protected

Timing plays an important role because publicly sharing details of an invention can affect whether patent protection is still available.

This can become particularly relevant when new technology is being demonstrated, tested with other organisations, discussed with investors or prepared for launch.

Registered designs and design rights

Maintaining the value of distinctive design

The appearance of a product can be an important reason customers recognise and choose it.

Registered and unregistered design rights can cover aspects of that appearance and have particular value where significant time and investment have gone into creating a distinctive product.

When successful design attracts imitation

Successful products can naturally attract attention from competitors.

Similar designs may begin to reduce the advantage created by the original product, but the protection available can depend on when the design was created, when it became public and whether it was registered.

Sponsorship agreements

Getting more from commercial partnerships

Sponsorship arrangements can involve far more than displaying a logo.

Larger partnerships may bring together significant financial commitments, two valuable brands, exclusive rights, events, content and access to particular audiences or markets.

More than a logo and a fee

Problems can arise when the two sides have different expectations about what the sponsorship actually includes.

Questions around competitor involvement, use of content, brand visibility, exclusivity and what happens when circumstances change can all affect the value and reputation attached to the partnership.

Trade marks

Building long-term value around your brand

Names, logos and other distinctive brand elements can become some of a business’s most recognisable and valuable assets.

As a brand grows into new products, services and markets, trade marks can play an important role in maintaining its identity and preventing others from benefiting from the reputation built around it.

Is your protection keeping pace with your brand?

Businesses rarely stand still.

New products, acquisitions, rebrands and expansion into other countries can mean that existing trade mark protection no longer reflects where or how a brand is being used. Gaps often become most apparent when another business adopts a similar identity or an established brand moves into a new market.