Intellectual property protection for tech companies

Copyright protects source and object code, documentation, designs, databases and written content. It arises automatically on creation in the UK with no registration, lasting for the author's life plus 70 years for literary works including software.

The catch is ownership. Work created by an employee in the course of employment belongs to the employer by default under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Work created by a contractor or freelancer belongs to the contractor unless there is a written assignment. Companies that scaled using freelance developers frequently discover in due diligence that they do not own parts of their own product.

A registered trade mark gives a monopoly on a name, logo or other sign for specified goods and services. Registration through the UK Intellectual Property Office is comparatively inexpensive and is the most cost-effective IP investment most early-stage companies make.

Clear the name before you commit to it. A search of the register and of trading names avoids the expensive scenario of rebranding after launch. File in the classes that reflect what you actually do and plan to do, and consider EU and other key markets separately, because a UK registration does not protect you abroad.

In the UK, computer programs 'as such' are excluded from patentability, but inventions with a technical effect implemented in software may be patentable — improved data processing efficiency, control of an external process, enhanced security or hardware performance can qualify.

Patents are costly and slow, and require absolute novelty: any public disclosure before filing can destroy the application. If patenting is on the table, file before you publish, demo or pitch, and use non-disclosure agreements in the meantime. For many software businesses, speed of execution and trade secret protection deliver more than a patent portfolio.

Algorithms, models, architecture, customer lists and pricing methodologies can be protected as confidential information under contract and, where the criteria are met, as trade secrets under the Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018.

Protection depends on behaviour: mark material as confidential, restrict access to those who need it, use NDAs with counterparties, include confidentiality obligations in employment and contractor agreements, and offboard leavers properly. A trade secret that everyone can access is simply information.

Every employment contract should include an express IP assignment covering both present and future works, together with a waiver of moral rights and a confidentiality clause. Relying on the statutory default is workable for copyright but weaker for other rights and for work created outside strict working duties.

Contractor agreements need a present assignment of IP with a further assurance obligation, and should deal with pre-existing materials by licence rather than assignment. Where a contractor supplies through their own company, ensure the assignment chain reaches the individual who actually wrote the code. Do the same for agencies, design studios and offshore development partners.

Customer contracts should confirm that the provider retains IP in the product, define ownership of customisations and outputs, and — increasingly — address ownership of AI-generated outputs and rights to use customer data for model training.

Ahead of any funding round or sale, run an internal audit: an IP register, chain-of-title evidence for every material component, an open-source bill of materials, trade mark registrations, domain and social handle ownership, and copies of every assignment. Finding a gap six months before a transaction is inconvenient; finding it in the data room is expensive.