With the boom in the startup culture in India, it is important to know a few basics, apart from your domain of knowledge, to maximise your business.
In simple terms, Intellectual Property is that property created by the company, which increases the value of your company. It may be a tangible property or an intangible property, i.e. something that you can either see and touch or something that you cannot see.
As this article is mainly for the layman, I will not be using any legal terminologies.
If you have written any artistic work, then the Copyright of the work belongs to you. However, if you have written the same artistic work or literary work as a part of an employment or taken any consideration (amount paid for your work), then the Copyright belongs to the person who employed you or paid you for your services. In the case of a movie, the Copyright belongs to a producer. In the case of a Software Programme, the Copyright belongs to the Company.
Trademark is the uniqueness of your brand value, and therefore these days, people are taking the first step to protect their brand value by registering their Trademarks and Logo. Apart from registering the Trademark and your Logo, it is also important to keep a watch on the goodwill of your company or be aware of your brand being misused. For example, a lot of celebrities face the issue of Trademark, wherein their goodwill is used by many people by using celebrity photographs on their websites and products without their permission.
If you work in the pharmaceutical industry or the technology industry, this is a must for you. It is important for you to register the Patent for your invention. A Patent can be registered only in case of an invention that is made by the company or an individual. To use the technology or the product that is patented, a person has to seek permission.
Kolhapuri chappals or Kancheepuram sarees, manufactured only in those particular villages or districts of Kolhapur or Kancheepuram, can be claimed to be the Geographical Index (GI) of the product. GI claims the uniqueness of the product, which may be natural or man-made, based on the location.
It is important for a startup to know about Intellectual Property because it helps them to increase their company valuation. Many a times startups are valued less by the investors because the entrepreneurs are not aware of it.