Types of intellectual property right (IPR)
What are intellectual property rights (IPRs)?
IPRs provide legal protection and exclusivity to use the intellectual property (IP) for commercial purposes. IP can take many different forms and IPRs protect these different forms. They include:
- Trade Marks
- Design Rights
- Plant Variety Rights
Find out more about the different types of IPRs, and what IP they protect, on the .
Find our more about the different types of IP.
An IPR example: Patents
A patent is a type of IPR which protects an invention. It protects the ideas and concepts which make something work. To be eligible for patent protection, the invention must be novel (not previously disclosed in the public domain) and inventive.
Patents are a public disclosure of the work; once published, anyone can access and theoretically use the information for non-commercial purposes to advance knowledge or for curiosity driven research into how something works. In return for the public disclosure, the owner is granted with an exclusive legal right to commercialise that IP.
There is a fine line between use for research purposes and infringement of the owner's IP rights. If you are interested to explore or use information contained within a patent, you are strongly advised to reach out to the Knolwedge Exchange and External Partnerships team, who can advise on the best course of action, before embarking on any experiments.
If you have an IP query or idea, please contact the Knowledge Exchange and External Partnerships (KEEP) team via intellectualproperty@reading.ac.uk as soon as possible. Alternatively, with us.
If you have a query related to engaging with external partners, please get in touch with your Business Relationship Manager directly, or alternatively contact the KEEP team through keep@reading.ac.uk.