Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property

Given the potentially short period of earning opportunity and the increasingly complex nature of the international entertainment, media and sports industries, it is essential to tailor a solution that will maximize the earnings potential from personal image rights, appearance and performance fees, sponsorships and endorsements and the licensing of trademarks, publications and recordings etc.

The value of any business is increasingly tied to its intangible rather than its tangible assets. All businesses should therefore be performing audits of their Intellectual Property and Intellectual Assets so that they can be managed effectively. Intellectual Property and Intellectual Assets have value in that they can be:

• Traded e.g. licensed, franchised, sold, mortgaged
• Assist in business strategy; business models and alternative streams of income
• Act as a marketing tools
• Deter competition

The Isle of Man is, through the UK, party to the key international intellectual property treaties such as the Berne, Paris and Rome Conventions, the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Madrid Protocol.

The registration of patents, trademarks and designs in the Isle of Man is covered by UK legislation, which applies to the UK and the Island as a single unit. The Island does not have its own registry for patents, trademarks or designs; instead, any patent, trademark or design registered with the UK Intellectual Property Office automatically receives protection in the Isle of Man. In particular, intellectual property provision available in the Isle of Man includes the “Roche-Bolar” exemption, which allows trials of generic medicinal product without infringing a patent in the product. Community trademarks are protected in the Isle of Man, and registered Community designs are protected from June 2014.

Jurisdictions such as Jersey and Guernsey are not party to some international treaties such as the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Madrid Protocol and the Paris Convention. It is the Isle of Man Government’s policy to largely follow the EU and UK legislation to ensure that intellectual property protection in the Island is to the same standard as that in the EU and the UK. Businesses can therefore be assured that intellectual property rights in the Isle of Man are modern, up to date and adhere to international standards.

Full details of the benefits of the Isle of Man for holding of Intelectual Property may be found in the PDF download below.

Related Reading:

The Isle of Man and Intellectual Property
(278.1kb PDF)