Whether you’re in the hospitality or catering sector (or both), you’ll know the importance of brand management; after all, your brand and logo are how your customers and suppliers distinguish you from others.
However, do you actually own the rights to your logo, website design and content, and/or any bespoke software your organisation uses?
All readers will be answering this question with “Yes, we do. We’ve invested some serious money into developing it and it is key to our business”.
But the reality is that many organisations do not own these intellectual property rights – even though they think they do.
Take for example the case of the brand “Innocent”, famous for their smoothies and other products, marketed under their brand.
The “halo” logo was developed in a brainstorming session with some brand consultants who have since claimed ownership of it.
The starting point under the current law is that any external firm or consultant (not an employee of your organisation) will own the intellectual property rights in anything they create for you – and, unless they have formally assigned those rights to you, the rights will continue to belong to them even though they have been paid in full for their work.
Who created the logo, website design and content, or software for your organisation, and were the intellectual property rights in them assigned you at the time?
Getting it right is very easy – it just needs a few appropriate words in your contract with them. Make sure you deal with this at the outset. Make sure that there is a contract and that it says the right things.
Even if overlooked, it can still and should be dealt with correctly.
Don’t allow these key rights to remain with someone else; don’t make that mistake – however innocent.
The information contained in this article is intended to be a synopsis only. Before acting on it, you should take professional advice.
Written by Dean Chauhan, Solicitor, Corporate & Commercial
Greenwoods Solicitors LLP
Monkstone House
City Road
Peterborough PE1 1JE
Tel: 01733 887700