Before knowing about Intellectual Property Rights, Intellectual properties are basically the creation of human minds. They are the category of intangible assets possessed and legally protected by a company or individual from unauthorized use or implementation without permission. It is protected by law which enables the owners of the property to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. There are numerous types of intellectual properties, and the most well-known types are as follows:

A patent is an official legal right granted by a government to a person to invent, use and sell an invention for a certain number of years.

A trademark is a sign or symbol that helps to recognize a product or service and differentiate a product from other products or services of its kind.

Copyright refers to the legal right given to the original creator of any product or service to reproduce the product or service again. The person who has rights given to produce the products by the original inventor can also reproduce the product or service. In simple words, we can also say it is a right to copy the product.

A trade secret is a formula, process, device, or other business information that companies keep confidential to give them a business advantage over their competitors. Unlike other types of intellectual properties, the trade secret can’t be protected by registering it. Rather, it can be protected only as long as the company takes the required steps to restrict the disclosure and use of such confidential information.

The violation of intellectual property can sometimes be considered a criminal matter depending on the circumstances. It may happen accidentally or deliberately for some specific gain. The violation primarily relates to the trademark, copyright, and patent infringement.

There runs a high risk of unknowingly infringing upon someone else’s property in many ways, so it’s crucial to consider this in every decision that is made regarding the use of graphics, slogans, and even particular product components. Failure to abide by intellectual property rights can have massive consequences for businesses, including financial and reputational damage.

Hence, necessary steps should be taken to ensure that the business is not accidentally violating intellectual property rights, some of which are as follows:

A business can use its employees to create original ideas for its business. Rather than taking other ideas, a business can create its own idea. For example, the company can create its own graphics, content, and strategies for marketing and implement them in the market which helps a company to remain safe from violating any intellectual properties.

After an idea has been developed, it should be constantly kept in check prior to launching. This will assist in finding out if the company has mistakenly violated the intellectual property anywhere. Constant checking of ideas and following the rules can save the company from inadvertently violating intellectual properties.

It is also one of the important steps which can prevent the infringement of intellectual properties. If the employees are well educated about intellectual property, its laws, rules, and related risks, then it can prevent the company from intellectual property violations. So it is essential that the company educates well about this to its employees. This can be done by providing training, regular classes, and sessions.

If the company is planning to use the intellectual property owned by another person, then it can do so by taking the written consent of the owner. Using the protected content without obtaining consent from the intellectual property owner can be considered a crime.

Royalty-free content is those types of content that do not have restrictions like other intellectual properties. There is plenty of royalty-free content available online. This type of content can be used freely without risk of infringement, however, it is considered good practice to give credit to the creator whenever their content is used.

If a company wants to have a clear picture of intellectual property laws and minimize its risk, then they can consult the experts on intellectual property law to identify if the current company practices are resulting in a violation of it and also to identify the areas where there is a high risk of such violations. This could save the company from any additional cost burden associated with the violation the intellectual properties.

Intellectual property is one of the most critical parts of any business as intellectual property makes a business different from other businesses or competitors. A unique sign of a business strength is the confidentiality of its internal process which helps produce quality products or services and the trademarks, copyrights, or patents that are owned by the company. There are laws and regulations related to intellectual property in place nationally and internationally which include the provision of penalties for those who infringe the intellectual property. However, there are still multiple instances of violation of those rules and regulations since intellectual property is an intangible asset and the proper checking of this asset is missed.

It is essential to possess the proper and updated knowledge of intellectual property rules and regulations since its violation can be considered a crime. Therefore, it is necessary to take preventive steps to remain safe from the  violations.