post Friday September 27, 2013
Recently an English company, Icondia, became the first organization to obtain the registration and recognition of “corporate personality” under the groundbreaking “Guernsey Laws.” The recent acknowledgement and registration of Icondia’s corporate personality in the Guernsey Registry is a landmark action that could potentially push intellectual property protection to new heights in the United Kingdom.
The key piece of legislation that created the ability for Icondia to gain protection and registration of their valuable IP was the Image Rights (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2012. This ordinance includes a provision that allows the “personality” of a corporation to be recognized and registered as a specific piece of intellectual property. The cost for Icondia’s registration into the Guernsey Registry cost £2,000. Icondia is the first entity of its type to be registered in under the Image Rights Ordinance.
In addition to protecting corporate personality and the various applications that the Image Rights Ordinance has for businesses and organizations, there are many opportunities for this legislation to affect and benefit individuals. In fact, it appears that the market for individuals could be substantially greater than the potential impacts and market for companies and organizations. It is clear that famous individuals could benefit greatly from these rules. Rising musicians and actors, athletes and artists could all substantially benefit from the protection that is offered for their personalities. Any individual that is widely exposed to the public eye could potentially gain benefits from registering their personalities.
While Icondia is the first company to obtain the registration, there will likely be many more companies that follow suit. Additionally, the potential of individuals registering in this system is sizeable. The Image Rights Ordinance of 2012 has the ability to push IP protection in a new and more effective direction.
Source: Mondaq
Image source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
