{"id":40528,"date":"2022-06-14T17:25:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T15:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/ip-theft-on-the-rise-have-you-protected-your-business-s-intellectual-property\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T15:05:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T13:05:09","slug":"intellectual-property-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zuniclaw.com\/en\/intellectual-property-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Intellectual Property Protection: Is Your Business Safe from IP Theft?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Intellectual property (IP) is the heart of the 21st-century company, an essential motor driving innovation, competitiveness, and the growth of businesses and the economy as a whole. According to the research conducted in the previous years by Ocean Tomo, the value of the intangible asset grew from 68% to 84% within just two decades \u2013 from 1995 to 2015.[1]<\/a> The same research was updated in 2020, as part of the analysis of the economic effects of COVID-19, and the results have shown that the value of the immaterial assets has continued to grow, to even 90%[2].<\/div>
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Therefore, it is justifiable to say that in the Digital Age, IP theft is set to rise within the coming years and could potentially affect thousands of companies and startups, especially in the IT industry. The Internet has definitely made theft easier than ever before.<\/div>
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IP theft is a business leader\u2019s nightmare \u2013 it may mean forfeiture of the first-to-market advantage, loss of profitability, or\u2014in the worst case\u2014losing entire lines of business to competitors or counterfeiters. Therefore, whether you are a startup or an established company, it is never too early to build protective walls around your IP. Do not wait until it is too late!<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Which IP Rights Belong to Your Business?<\/h2><\/div>

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Intellectual property (IP)<\/strong> refers to creations of the mind. We are surrounded by and constantly interact with someone\u2019s intellectual property. For example, while reading this blog post, you will come across photographs protected by copyright<\/strong>, you are sitting in front of your computer which bears a brand name protected by a trademark (for example, Lenovo), or you are probably sitting on a chair possibly protected by design rights and you might be holding a pen whose mechanism has been patented at some point.<\/p>

There is a general consensus as to what makes the core of IP content, such as literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, recordings, films and broadcasting, inventions, registered and unregistered designs, signs, names and images capable of distinguishing the goods or services. [3]<\/a> Therefore, anything you have created, from an idea of how to develop your business to the logo or computer code<\/a>, may represent your intellectual property.<\/p>

For instance, if you are an IT company, a piece of software you developed is protected by your copyright<\/a>.<\/p>

Intellectual Property is protected by the IP rights such as:<\/p>