The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has claimed that many UK firms find it difficult to protect their unique identity and intellectual property.
Due to the effort required to protect designs and ideas – including the obtainment of patents – many businesses choose to focus on business development and other avenues of income generation, meaning that their ideas are at a higher risk of being stolen by competitors or the general public.
According to a recent FSB survey completed by UK-wide businesses, approximately a quarter of respondents admitted to having experienced issues with others infringing on their intellectual property rights during the last five years.
John Allan, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Proper protection of intellectual property is a mainstream issue which deserves a mainstream focus.
“The knowledge economy, which runs on innovative ideas and brands, is becoming ever more critical to our economic success.
“Left unchecked, theft and infringement of ideas, patents and brand costs small businesses and diminishes their appetite to invest in their business, ultimately hampering the UK’s long-term economic growth.”
Ensuring that legal protection is in place for intellectual property is crucial for the UK’s economy, which is increasingly knowledge-based.
Intellectual property can be infringed upon through the copying of a product, the use of copyrighted work or images on a website, or the use of copyrighted work in a service or product for sale.
However, if a business protects its designs and ideas as soon as possible then the law will be on their side from the beginning of any dispute, should an issue arise.