News & Insights

In this third and final article in the Start-Ups to End-Ups series, we consider how IP interacts with a marketing plan.

A common marketing framework is the 7P marketing mix. Each of the 7P elements are aspects which can be included in a marketing plan and are factors from which you can build a competitive advantage for your business.

In the table below, we have listed types of IP that may be relevant to each of the 7P elements. This will guide you in identifying what aspects of your marketing plan may be able to be protected by IP rights and therefore provide you with additional ‘tangible’ value generators for your business.

The above list isn’t exhaustive. Other forms of IP may be relevant for any of the elements. What it demonstrates is that a good marketing plan will incorporate many different elements of IP. Securing protection of these through registered IP rights can ensure you secure a competitive advantage over your competitors.

Whether you’re expanding your business overseas, or just starting out (or somewhere in-between), it’s crucial to ensure the core around which you’re building your business is secure.

In fact, the earlier you ensure the core of your business’s competitive advantages are secure, the better. Imagine what would happen if the very core aspects of your business, be it your brand reputation, your unique product features, or your confidential supplier network, was given to your competitors. This is why it’s important to ensure these assets are secure, and you’re building your business on bedrock, not a time and monetary sinkhole.

If you’d like to get your business’s competitive advantages analysed and protected to ensure your business is built around a solid core, please contact Mark Metzeling or a member of Macpherson Kelley’s IP Team.

The information contained in this article is general in nature and cannot be relied on as legal advice nor does it create an engagement. Please contact one of our lawyers listed above for advice about your specific situation.