Laura Harper, partner in the Creative Industries Team at Ward Hadaway, explores how the new Creative Barcodes system could help creatives looking to protect their IP.

Creative Barcodes have been developed to combat the tricky problem of protecting confidential information and ideas when pitching for work or potential collaborations.

The Creative Barcode is a software application described by its developers as a “digitally encoded online IP (intellectual property) protection system” that claims to safeguard knowledge-based creative concepts and propositions at the pre-commercialisation presentation stage.

How does it work?

The Creative Barcode works by embedding uniquely numbered and coded digital codes into written and visual concepts, proposals or creative works.

The codes are intended to denote ownership and allow permission-based usage, allowing potential collaborators or clients access to the ideas whilst protecting the owners’ intellectual property rights.

Will it protect my ideas?

The short answer is – yes, probably, but there are a number of issues potential subscribers should be aware of:

- Whilst the software claims to act as ‘proof of ownership’, this may be subject to challenge where the user of the software is not actually the owner or creator of the bar-coded concept.

- Before downloading bar-coded work, a third party must agree to the Creative Barcode terms and conditions, which set out the basis of the agreement between the parties as to the permitted use of the works. This raises questions over whether these terms will be deemed to be effectively incorporated and agreed by the parties and as such, whether acceptance of the terms will constitute a binding agreement and indeed, upon whom it will be binding.

Does the individual recipient of the bar-coded work have the authority to bind the company to whom the concept is disclosed?

Unless this system is widely adopted throughout a particularly industry, then an individual company wishing to adopt the system may find it to be a bar to getting to pitch stage with a client that is reluctant to accept the terms and conditions.

However, the Creative Barcode has only been launched recently and is yet to be fully tested. We will watch with interest to see how widely it is used and accepted.

Are there other ways to protect my ideas?

While the Creative Barcode should assist in the protection of your work, it remains vital for all creative businesses to protect and police their intellectual property in order to guard against unauthorised use of their ideas and crucially to ensure they can fully exploit the commercial value of their work.

An effective way of doing this is to negotiate through dialogue that all potential clients formally agree, pre-pitch, not to use or disclose your pitch or tender materials unless and until a formal written agreement is entered into. Adopting appropriate terms of business which include such provisions is the easiest way to deal with this and potential clients or collaborators should not be put off by such standard practices.

By ensuring that all parties are clear that the pitch materials are being provided for evaluation purposes, you can be left to pitch the idea without worrying whether your ideas will be taken and used elsewhere.

Where can I find out more?

At Ward Hadaway, we have substantial experience of protecting creative enterprises’ intellectual property rights without stifling the exploration of commercial possibilities.

For more information on how to effectively protect and exploit your creative ideas, get in touch with Laura now