Intellectual property registration guides

Step-by-step procedures for registering copyright, trademarks, patents, industrial designs and plant varieties: documents, fees, timelines and receiving authorities.

Copyright arises automatically when a work is created and fixed; registration is not a condition of protection. You register to obtain a certificate — the document that spares you from having to prove ownership when a dispute arises.

Filing a patent or utility solution application

Patents run on first-to-file: whoever files first is examined first, regardless of who invented first. Publicly disclosing the solution before filing can destroy novelty and with it the entire prospect of protection.

Registering a trademark

The most common IP procedure for businesses. The cost depends almost entirely on how many Nice classes of goods and services you claim.

Registering an industrial design

Protects the outward appearance of a product. Costs scale with the number of design variants and figures filed, so a carefully prepared image set saves real money.