PPMA-Group-News-Autumn-2018

How safe
is your
intellectual
property?
Member benefits
By Roger Midgley – Client Manager for
Sutton Winson, one of the UK’s leading
independent insurance brokers and risk
management providers
Innovation of new products
is not easy and often comes
as a result of a lot of blood,
sweat and tears, not to
mention time and money. So,
once you’ve developed an exciting new
product, why would you not want to
protect it?
For many businesses, much of their
value lies in what makes them unique.
That’s why it’s vitally important to protect
the patents, trademarks, copyrights and
other intellectual property (IP) that make
your business competitive and successful.
Designed with SMEs in mind, an IP policy
covers the defence and pursuit of IP
infringement claims, which can be fatal for
a small or medium-sized business.
Key features include:
Pursuit of Infringers – This covers the
cost associated with enforcing rights if
someone infringes a valid right and it
has a commercial impact. This could be
competitors or even a former employee.
Patent Infringement Liability – This
covers the defence of patent and all
other IP infringement claims being
brought against you; including legal costs,
damages, settlements and counterclaims.
A competitor could financially ruin your
company if you cannot pay the costs of
expensive patent litigation.
Contractual Indemnities cover – This vital
cover allows smaller companies to sign
up to contracts with larger customers and
meet their high demands.
Loss of Profit cover – This cover can
be critical for small and medium-sized
businesses with only a single or a handful
of product lines. In the event that you lose
an infringement case and it results in an
injunction against you, this policy can cover
loss of your profits for up to 12 months.
Loss of IP Right cover – Investment in IP
costs a great deal. If a right is invalidated
as a consequence of infringement action,
this policy can repay that investment
allowing your company to move onto the
next project.
As long as you are not aware of any
known infringement or isolation, you
can apply for insurance to protect
your trademark or patent. For further
information or a quotation, contact
roger.midgley@swib.co.uk
www.suttonwinson.com/ppma
Sutton Winson is the
PPMA Group’s Insurance
provider. The PPMA Group
has partnerships with
various service providers,
covering insurance, H&S
and employment law,
recruitment, training,
litigation, technical advice
and driver training. To access
any of these services at a
preferential PPMA member
rate, contact
membership@ppma.co.uk
11 www.ppma.co.uk