Why is this important?

Intellectual Property (IP) is an increasingly valuable asset for many businesses. It results from the application of someone's mind or intellect to create something new or original, and it can exist in various forms — it can be an invention, a trade mark, book, film, trade secret, or artistic design.

In Australia, IP laws allow people to have the exclusive right to use and control, and therefore profit from, their own intellectual and creative endeavours.

It is therefore important that a business manages and protects its IP well.

What to do

It is sound business practice to undertake an IP audit. This audit should be a systematic review of the IP owned, used or acquired by a company. An audit's main purpose is to identify all the IP your company may have. Additionally, an IP audit can also establish the following:

• whether or not your IP rights are registered
• who owns the rights and, if you do not, identify any conditions that apply to their use
• an assessment of whether your IP is being used effectively
• whether your rights are being challenged or threatened by others
• whether you have an effective IP management and maintenance plan in place
• records of your IP creation and ownership

IP audits are generally undertaken either:

• as part of an ongoing IP asset management program
• when a business is being bought, or sold
• when you are enforcing or defending your IP rights

IP protection

It is critical that you protect any confidential information you may have. The concept of legal confidentiality is a body of law developed by the courts to protect relationships of confidence and the information disclosed in such relationships. However, confidentiality only arises when three essential conditions are met:

• The information is imparted in a relationship of confidence. This relationship has to meet the necessary character of ‘confidentiality' which will be recognised by the courts.
• There is a relationship of confidence between the person imparting the information and the person receiving the information.
• The unauthorised use or dissemination of the information has caused, or would cause, damage to the recipient.

Examples of information which have been recognised as being legally confidential include:

• drawings of tools or equipment used in manufacturing
• business proposals
• designs of components
• business reports
• tribal secrets
• customer lists and price lists
• personal information
• marketing strategies

There are a few basic steps that can be followed to increase the likelihood of a court recognising information as confidential. These include:

• Mark clearly all documents containing the information ‘confidential'.
• Treat the information as confidential by restricting employee access to the information to ‘a needs only' basis.
• Treat the information as confidential even at the point of destruction, by providing locked disposals bins for the disposal of any confidential information.
• Require all those that have access to the information sign a written confidentiality agreement.

Source: www.smexcellence.com.au

Where to go for help

IP management

http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/strategies/ownership.shtml

http://www.iptoolbox.gov.au/default.asp?action=category&ID=44

IP protection

http://www.iptoolbox.gov.au/default.asp?action=article&ID=196

http://www.iptoolbox.gov.au/default.asp?action=category&ID=21&order=rank&sort=asc&limit=0

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