Food & Beverage

Have you ever wondered, how to protect the intangible assets of your product? How to prevent competitors from copying your work, intellectual assets, know-how? The Intellectual property rights were created ages ago, to give the exclusive rights for the creators to award them for their mental work, time and effort.

The question is not, “IF I should protect my company’s intellectual rights”, but rather “HOW can I protect such rights? WHAT rights my company have?”. No company can be strong without protecting its intangible assets. In the food and drink industry the exact same rule applies. Having a tough competition in the market, food and drink companies must take a particular attention to the trademarks, copyright and designs they own. The competitors will not wait for too long, and will start copying the best-selling products.

If you do not protect your creativity, it will be left in the public domain, and can be used by any interested person. But can be even worse. If you do not act timely enough, somebody else can register same logo, apply for the Trademark or register identical design. In such case, not only you will lose the possibility to protect your intellectual property, but you can also be prevented to use it

Trademarks in food and beverages Industry

In the food and drink industry, the trademark is a very significant asset. It allows the consumers to choose the refreshments or foods they want. The consumer knows that buying a drink with label "Coca-Cola" he will purchase a carbonated non-alcoholic beverage. When he sees the label is "berrywhite", the consumer knows that it is an organic drink from berries, with fewer additives. The trademarks allow consumers to make choices easier. They don’t need to read the ingredients on the bottle every time they make a decision. The trademark informs consumer directly about the commercial origin of the drink, its substance, value and use.

Once your trademark is well known, you can prevent others from using it not only directly on the beverages, but also to use similar marks on other products.

Copyright& Design Protection in food and beverages Industry

Design protects the overall look of the product& Copyright Protects the Artistic Design.So, in the drinks and food industry the design can be found in the packaging and also shape of the product secured through registration

Protecting your design not only ensures, that other companies do not use the same bottle or packaging, but also protects from using similar containers or packages. If another company makes only minor changes in your protected design, but the overall look of the products is similar, such competitor would infringe your rights. Therefore, the protection of design is much broader than only the direct copying.

Another significant thing that one must know, is that the design must be new. Therefore, when you came up with a new look of the bottle, chocolate bar, or similar, it is better to apply for a design registration before you release the product to the market. If you do not comply with the statutory limits to apply for certification, your design can be invalidated, because you have made it publicly available before protecting IP rights.

Trade secretsin food and beverages Industry

Another IP right actively used in the food industry is trade secrets. A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, or compilation of information not generally known or reasonably ascertainable by others by which a beverage business can obtain an economic advantage. Trade secrets usually are used to protect the recipes of drinks

Even if trade secrets can still play an essential role in the drink industry, nowadays it is much harder to keep it a secret. With all the new technologies and inventions, it is possible; a good chemist will disclose the ingredients of the drink or food by making analysis and running some tests. The trade secret today seem to provide only weak protection in the food and drink industry. Such a strategy can be used when a company does not see a need to invest in higher IP protection

Let BSS Debunk the IP Myths

Myth: Food/beverage products are not eligible for protection

Reality: The unique shape of a food product or its packaging can be (and has successfully been) protected by trademarks and Copyright.

Myth: Intellectual property protection is for big corporates, not SMEs

Reality: this is simply not true; some of the most innovative products come from SMEs. Without appropriate IP protection in place, others can simply copy your product and exploit the fruits of your labor. Having protection prevents this, and moreover differentiates you from your competitors, which can be extremely helpful when trying to attract investor funding.

Myth: Protecting my intellectual property is expensive

Reality: we have a wealth of experience of working with SMEs and helping tailor their portfolios to their budgets. Protecting your IP at the outset can provide numerous financial benefits in the long-run.

Our demonstrable expertise embraces all aspects of food and drink IPRs. From brand clearance and the emerging IP challenges of "creative food", to branded commodities and IP’s role in business investability, we help you. Our clients benefit from much more than just a deep practical understanding of food and drink IP. Because we understand the market, we can advise on cost-saving prioritization of IP effort – at a level.

The food and drink industry calls for a range of specialists to fully understand what takes each product from original conception to product launch and beyond. At BSS Pakistan, we offer dedicated IP food and drink attorneys to provide strategic legal support to keep your IP protected and well managed.

Our team works with food businesses at every level, from start-ups to established international household brands. Whether you are seeking to clear a new food or drink brand of use, have protectable products or processes, need to enforce your rights against a competitor, or require a team to work alongside your people to develop a new IP strategy that gets the most from your IP, we can offer what we believe to be a truly unrivaled service.

Whether you’re refining recipes around your kitchen table, or planning your exit strategy, which IP challenges does your business face?

Imagine if we could help.