Raising awareness within your business
Good staff communication can help to ensure that they understand this issue and the potential risks that it can pose for them and for the business.
Policies and approaches to Intellectual Property (IP) compliance need to be clearly communicated to staff so that they know what the business's position is. what behaviour is acceptable at work and what is not. Such a policy should encourage responsible, legal use of IP-protected products etc while avoiding unnecessary restrictions being placed on staff.
Awareness raising with managers
It is important to make sure that all managers are aware of this issue, including your business's policy and practices, typical problems and their own responsibilities. Research has shown that managers can often be unaware of the rules and their own responsibilities in dealing with any IP rights infringement that they witness in the business
- A
sample pack for managers
(234Kb) on IP rights infringement
has been developed to assist businesses in communicating this message to managers. - A
brief guide for managers
(47Kb) on IP rights infringement (covering key areas like what
is IP
crime, typical problems, the role of managers
and how to act)
These samples will need to be augmented to reflect the specific policy and approach adopted by your business.
Awareness raising with staff
Effective communication of your internal policy and why it is important will help to embed respect for IP and appropriate behaviour amongst your staff. It should be covered clearly and concisely in staff materials like handbooks and induction packs.
- A
sample pack for staff (223Kb) on IP rights infringement has been developed to assist businesses
in communicating this message to staff.
- A brief guide
for staff (35Kb)
on IP rights infringement (covering basic rules, office policy and possible risks and issues)
- Reminder
electronic pop-up notices (27Kb) can be used by businesses to reinforce messages to staff
on online activities.
These samples will need to be augmented to reflect the specific policy and approach adopted by your business.