Whenever we develop an innovation project, the question of the unreleased character is asked quite fast, even more in the health sector. It is true that the development of new solutions takes long cycles of research and development at a high price. We always face the risk that our idea is developed by a competitor and this can have substantial consequences. As from the start it is therefore very important to think about possibilities to protect your concept and your product and to make sure to guarantee the intellectual property rights. At lifetech.brussels, we help you with all the steps of protecting your brand, concept or product and put you in touch with experts that can advise you in the right way and depending on your needs.
Intellectual Property is a collection of legal rights that provide control over the availability and the use of skills, creativity, resources and technology and gives the owner or his licensee a competitive advantage. To the contrary of what is generally believed, IP is not limited to patent applications. There are many other IP rights, protecting different types of creations.
Overview of Intellectual Property rights
Legal rights | What for? | How? |
Patents | New inventions | Application and examination |
Copyright © | Original creative or artistic forms | Exists automatically |
Trade marks ™/® | Distinctive identification of products or services | Use and/or registration |
Registered designs | External appearance | Registration |
Trade secrets | Valuable information not known to the public | Reasonable efforts to keep secret |
Since IP can be one of the main reasons that define your competitive advantage, it should not be ignored. It is essential to protect your IP, but it is also crucial to optimize the exploitation of these rights by others. It is however true that the process of protecting your IP in the right way is time and resource consuming.
The lifetech.brussels’ IP experts can help you to determine which position you need to take with regards to the intellectual property of your idea, and which steps you need to take to protect this idea.