How IP law protects ideas and innovators

It’s difficult to over-emphasise how important IP law is in understanding the obligations you owe to your employer, protecting your ideas and providing you with commercial options.

Listen to this interview between Dr Marrisa Joseph and Dr Başak Bak – an experienced academic, having worked for over fifteen years in the UK and overseas.

Basak is a certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) and European Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/E) accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). She has worked as a qualified barrister, registered with the Istanbul Bar Association, and now practices as a legal consultant specialising in intellectual property and data protection and holds two PhD degrees in these fields. Her research earned her the prestigious Modern Law Review Scholarship. Currently, she is working as a Law Lecturer at the University of Reading, where she convenes the Intellectual Property and Data Protection modules. Başak is the founder of the Law School GENAI Working Group.

In the interview, Marrisa asks Başak about the underlying purpose of the international IP legal framework and how organisations and individuals benefit from it. Başak explains the legal protection that is provided for employees when they have an idea that they want to commercialise and provides advice for IP creators who are entrepreneurs and are working independently. She shares the three most common mistakes she’s seen innovators make and finishes by touching on the impact generative AI is having on the definitions of IP and considerations creators should bear in mind as this technology becomes more prevalent.

If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation where your IP has been used without your permission (infringement of your rights), you can enforce protection through:

• Court orders preventing further acts of use
• A claim for financial compensation
• Destruction of products that have been used without permission.

The UK Government has published comprehensive guidance on IP crime and enforcement but we would strongly recommend that you seek professional legal advice when it comes to enforcing your IP.