It is a truism of the law of intellectual property that registration is both a shield and a sword. The shield will protect your business against claims that you do not have the right to do what you do and a sword will stop others from damaging your business by stealing your valuable assets for their own use. Companies often invest substantial money, time and resources in the development of new products, processes and brands. However, despite this they will often overlook the requirements to protect their new products and technology from unlawful exploitation by competitors.

Though intellectual property is not a physical asset, it can be the most valuable asset of a business and therefore must be identified and protected accordingly. While protecting IP and prosecuting IP infringement actions can involve substantial costs, these pale when compared to the costs to a business of not securing adequate IP rights in the first place.

This Guide examines the processes which a business needs to consider in order to ensure that it enjoys the maximum value of its IP. Firstly it briefly explains why a business should protect its IP. It then focuses on the process of carefully identifying what IP it owns/uses and helps you evaluate the state of such IP. Once identified, the Guide then describes the means by which the IP in your business can be protected.

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