All businesses will have Intellectual Property (IP) rights which should be protected, such as trade names, brand names and logos.

IP is a valuable asset and it is vital therefore that a business should know how to protect its own IP rights and to prevent infringing the rights of others.

IP is a complex area and understanding the procedures involved in can be very time-consuming. It is vital that you receive advice from people who understand IP and the law. We are specialists in this area and can assist you in all aspects of protecting and registering your IP rights.

The internet has resulted in IP rights being abused, although often this is due to ignorance as people are unaware that copying information from websites is unlawful.

A business should consider whether the domain name they choose breaches the trade mark rights of others and also that their website does not infringe any copyright of others.

For obvious reasons companies nearly always prefer to use their company name as their Internet domain name. A domain name may also be a registered trademark and therefore prior to choosing a domain name you should always consider the following:-

• conduct a trademark search at the Trade Mark Registry, even if the domain name appears to be available

• Check with companies house whether the domain name you wish to use is in fact registered as a company name as even though it is not a registered trademark you may still not be able to use it as it may be considered to be “passing off”

• You should always consider registering the domain name as a trademark in the UK and if applicable a community trademark in the EU as well as a domain name

• Search the internet to see whether that name or a similar name is being used abroad

It is important to remain vigilant to those who may be infringing your IP rights on-line.

However, whilst it is illegal to infringe the rights of third parties it is also illegal to make an unjustified threat of infringement. It is therefore vital that you seek independent legal advice as quickly as possible so as to avoid any rights being lost.