The nuances of intellectual property can be a touch complex if you don't fully have your head around them. Fortunately, there are many tools out there, several issued by the government, that can help New Zealand's small business owners get to grips with protecting their products.
However, what are the differences between trade marks, copyrights or even trade secrets? Well, there are certain things that business owners can and can't officially protect. Here's the breakdown:
Trade mark
Business.govt.nz explained that the best way to protect a product or service is to trade mark it. Most commonly, this will include a logo or brand name. To get registered, business owners need to submit a proposal to the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ).
Once granted, the protection provided effectively covers the business forever, assuming the business makes the effort to renew it every 10 years.
Copyright
Copyright applies to some of the collateral your business may have produced. For example, product brochures, photographs or even unique songs and jingles can all be protected. The good news is that, providing you can prove ownership, there's no need to register.
To that end, it's best practice to use the copyright symbol whenever the business is producing something new, and make sure records are correctly dated.
Trade secret
Trade secrets are a touch different as they can't necessarily be registered externally, but it's best to have internal practices in place to protect the business. For example, confidentiality agreements with employees, as well as limiting their involvement in some aspects of the enterprise can keep important information safe.
Using a specific example, company finances are not something you'd want competitors to get their hands on. If the company is using small business accounting software such as CashManager from Accomplish, ensure that all employees that have access to it act with confidentiality in mind.
While intellectual property is something that is unique to each small business, ensuring that ideas, products and offerings are properly protected is one of the building blocks of maintaining profitability.