Michael Schwager (IP Australia)
IP Australia has unveiled a guide for start-ups to help them understand intellectual property in the digital age.
Dubbed IP for Digital Business, the guide is aimed at helping entrepreneurs avoid the pitfalls of starting a company, including copyright, ownership, licenses and infringement.
The guide has five categories which cover protecting concepts and solutions, turning ideas into reality, avoiding pitfalls when going to market, keeping IP secure and going international.
Within these categories, IP Australia goes into subjects including trademarks, software patents, copyright for digital products, liability of hosting platforms, cyber security and data breach obligations.
When it comes to international expansion, the guide covers aspects a start-up needs to consider when taking their business to the US, China, Singapore, Germany and Israel.
“There are entrepreneurs all over Australia and the world that are interested in protecting the intangible assets of their businesses,” IP Australia director general Michael Schwager said.
“With more businesses entering the digital economy the content we have released will help our customers determine their appropriate IP strategy for these intangible assets.”
On the guide, he added: “We have chosen the most important topics for early-stage businesses. We understand that IP is a complex topic and that many of our audience interested in digital IP are time poor due to their busy schedules.”
The announcement comes one year after the government launched its Digital Economy Strategy, which is aimed at boosting the Australian economy by between $140 billion to $250 billion by 2025.
As reported by sister publication ComputerWorld, the strategy will cover digital infrastructure, business capability and building skills and inclusion.
IP Australia recently made small businesses the focus of its partnership with Trade Mark Assist. Through this, the agency launched a tool to help users check whether their proposed trademark is compliant with the requirements using machine learning algorithms.
