As mentioned in the brief summary, design is one of the categories of copyright protection; however there are others starting with;
Patents
Patents are more based around inventions and engineering as opposed to artistic or literary creations. This form of copyright protection is not free, but without it, your creation is not protected against anyone who steals and recreates it. It will take any time up to and after 18 months of submitting any original applications for your patent to be valid but typically takes around 3-4 years. It lasts for 20 years after completion and it is completely up to you to defend and keep your patent up to date. It is strongly advised you do NOT release your creation into the public forum before it is patented, even if your application is in the works, nothing can be done if someone else takes it and recreates it.
To be eligible for a patent, your product must meet two conditions - first, it must not have been publicly disclosed anywhere globally prior to beginning your application. Second, it must be its own thing - it cannot simply be a remake or slight modification of something that already exists.
Trademarks
Examples of property under the category of trademarks would be any company names, slogans, jingles and logos - it mainly falls around company image and association. Much like patenting, trademark registration is costly - only the design category of copyright is free. It is a standard online application however fees do not guarantee a successful registration. For a trademark to qualify, it must distinguish any goods or services offered by your business from someone else's.
Information taken from:
ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-about.htm
acid.uk.com/what-is-intellectual-property-ip.html
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