Get brand protection

A business’s brand and the goodwill associated with it are valuable assets worthy of protection. This is as true for a business offering healthcare services as it is for any high-street seller of goods.

This is because building up a brand and reputation takes a substantial investment of time, effort and resources. But how can a practice protect its hard-earned intellectual property?

Gill Hall and Nabil Asaad discuss the key intellectual property rights that are relevant to an independent practice and advise how best to protect your hard-earned brand.

Intellectual property covers a range of rights, some that apply automatically and some requiring registration for a fee. Some obvious examples are brand names and logos – for example, ‘Coca-Cola’ or the Nike ‘Swoosh’.

Protecting a brand name or logo as a registered trade mark gives a monopoly right to use that trade mark throughout the territory(ies) covered by the registration in respect of the goods/services for which the mark is registered.