It is common for businesses to ask if a business plan can be copyrighted. The answer is yes, but this does not protect your business idea or methods. The copyright will protect the physical document and the contents within it; this will apply automatically once created, which is the same for all original content.
This article will go further into what copyright protects and what other things you should consider when setting up a business.
How Copyrights Work in the UK
Copyrights in the UK work to protect original work in the UK, in particular drama, web content, photography, art and music. A copyright does not need to be registered or any fee paid to protect your work, it will automatically apply once you create the work.
A business plan is an original document, and therefore it can be copyrighted to prevent someone from copying that document and passing it off as their own.
The copyright, however, does not protect the business idea or methods, which is an important distinction. A business method is how you operate your business; in most cases, you will not be able to protect your business idea or methods entirely. We will look at some things you can do later in this blog.
It may help to add a copyright symbol (©) to your content along with the date the work was created; however, adding this does not affect your rights under copyright law within the UK.
You can learn more about how copyrights work in the UK on the IPO section of the Government website.
What is a Business Plan
A business plan is a document you create to outline your business ideas, methods and finances. If you are interested in learning more about what should be included, take a look at 8 key elements of a business plan.
In the context of copyright and protection of your business, a business plan is not a legal document that prevents others from creating a business similar to yours. Unless they copy the business plan document in its entirety, there is nothing to stop someone from using your business plan to form their own ideas and methods.
How do You Protect Your Business Idea
If you wish to prevent others from copying your business idea, there are several ways things you can do:
Trademarks
First and foremost, you can look at protecting your business name and identity. To do this, you will need to apply for a trademark. Doing this will prevent others from being able to pass off as you.
You should check that there are no existing trademarks that you may be infringing on before setting up your business, which you can do by searching the trademark database.
Patents
A patent is fundamental if you have a product or invention you want to protect. Generally, this covers anything that is a new way of doing something. For example, you may have a new way to package liquids that is better for the environment.
Registering a patent is significantly more challenging than registering a trademark because it must include a detailed explanation of how the invention works. The patent application must also contain an “abstract,” which is a summary of the invention. In addition, the applicant must file “drawings” with the application to help explain how the invention works and what it looks like.
The government website has more information on how to register a trademark, but it’s advisable to get help from a professional patent lawyer for this.
Protecting Your Business Methods
You may be wondering if you can protect your method of doing business. For example, you may have a unique way of generating leads that is an essential part of your business strategy.
Unfortunately, this area is a lot harder to protect as you are not protecting something physical like you are with a trademark or a patent.
Your business method could quite easily be something that another business is already doing; if they aren’t, it doesn’t prevent them from seeing your idea and using it for themselves.
If you are looking to keep your methods a secret and away from prying eyes who may be looking to steal those methods in your business plan, it is best to avoid detailing this aspect too much.
Summary
In summary, it is possible to copyright your business plan but it will only protect the physical document and not the idea or methodology of your business.
If you want to protect those aspects, you can do so with trademarks and patents, but you will struggle to protect the actual method of business legally. If that is what you want to protect, then it is best to be careful who you talk to and how you present those areas of your business plan.