Blog Category: legal

Protecting your identity, why start-ups should pay heed to IP law

02 November 2012

Intellectual property and the law that surrounds the protection of brands, ideas and image rights is hitting the news with considerable frequency at the moment. The latest big story broke last Friday, with the news that rapper Jay-Z and wife Beyoncé had trademark registered their baby daughter’s name, Blue Ivy™, much to the annoyance of a Boston wedding planner who has been trading under the same name since 2009.

If this all seems a bit too Hollywood, the realities of trademark protection are brought home by the fact that Jamie Oliver and even Alan Titchmarsh have trademarks protecting their names from association with the sale of a wide range of products.

Whilst it may seem obvious that celebrities need to stay ahead of the game when it comes to protecting their image rights, the same cannot be said for Britain’s small businesses. Surveys by the Intellectual Property Office consistently show that as many as 85% of our small and startup companies neglect the need to protect their IP.

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What Items are Zero Rated from VAT in the UK?

09 June 2010

VAT is something many businesses will have to contend with when purchasing items and when attempting to sell them. The UK's VAT isn't quite as high as other European countries, but in 2009, the nation suffered a 3.7% consumer inflation bump, and then Chancellor Alastair Darling (pictured) declared that VAT should be restored to 17.5% on a wide range of goods and services.

Similar to a sales tax, the value added tax is a levy tacked on based on estimated value as a product goes from material stage, manufacturing and finally distribution. This tax is ultimately passed on to the consumer, so finding zero-rated items is the ideal for most small businesses. This creates big savings on expenses and, of course, customers appreciate the lower prices.

It's hard at times to find a proper niche in the market and grab a product that isn't subject to VAT. This becomes especially difficult when dealing online, as most affiliates are working to sell high-end electronics. However, there are a few products for online businesses not subject to the high VAT.

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How Far do Image Rights and Trademarks Extend?

07 May 2010

If youre planning on going into business, especially online, youll need to know a little bit about image rights and trademarks. Why? Well, unfortunately, its easy to violate someone elses rights in business, and unless you know exactly how to be careful, you could end up on the paying end of a large fine. Or worse, you could lose your business altogether.

Its important to know just how far image rights and trademarks extend, and how to subsequently avoid infringing on someones rights. Also, knowing about it will allow you to protect your rights so knowledge of the subject is a win-win situation.

Lets start first with image rights. This can mean one of two things. Image rights are sometimes considered an individuals proprietary right in their persona. In other words, your image is you, and no one else has a right to use you without your permission. This includes the unauthorized use of your name, personal attributes, likeness, etc.

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How Do You Keep Operational Risk To A Minimum?

14 April 2010

There are all sorts of risks associated with business. If you were to take the more commonly occurring and more potentially harmful risks and give them all a category, they would fall under operational risks. Operational risks in business are encompassing and include every risk stemming from a company's business functions.

Obviously, it's essential to avoid these operational risks. However, there is no surefire way to completely eliminate them. The idea is simply to keep them to a minimum.

Luckily, there are many ways to do that that won't really cost your business a lot of time or money. What it will take, however, is effort on your part to see that the need for risk awareness is ever present.

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Do you need to protect your intellectual property?

08 December 2008

The opinions as to whether or not one should protect their intellectual property are vast and varied. Let’s take a look at both sides of the issue, the pros and cons:

First let’s start with the pros:

If you have a business idea, one unique to the industry you choose to compete in, protection is vital. Whether it is a logo, slogan, or even a phrase, the uniqueness of a business is a key to its survival in today’s global business market. That uniqueness will help to thrust it past the competition, even better at times than a solid marketing campaign.

What would Google be without its trademark name? Critics may say to a startup, there is nothing to protect. Something so simplistic matters little to the overall picture. Well they would be wrong. As simplistic as an idea may be and look, it is the very heart of Google and has changed little since its inception.

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How does VAT work within my small business when I first start up?

30 November 2008

VAT is the Value Added Tax which is added to goods and services as a means of a consumption levy on value being added to a chain. This is a tax charged at each stage between the producer and the consumer of a good or service, so in effect, the charge flows downstream.

As of December 1, 2008 the cost of the VAT will go down to 15 per cent and back up again to 17.5 per cent January 1, 2010. There are a few items that carry a lesser charge like some fuels. Other things like food, periodicals, clothes for kids and some medically based items carry no charge at all.

A business making less than £67,000 annually does not have to register for the VAT 9 digit number. This is nice for the new business on the block, making the cost of goods or services provided significantly less than a VAT registered competitor. If you do startup a business and register for your VAT number you first have to evaluate what it is you are selling and see where it falls in the VAT cost breakdown. As we discussed before some items carry a lesser charge, some no charge at all.

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