Creative Barcode™ – a digitally-encoded online IP protection system – safeguards knowledge-based creative concepts and propositions at the pre-commercialisation presentation stage

Each barcode embeds a unique number to each new project, enabling originators to digitally tag, encode and date their work, denote its origins and ownership, and record and track its use by visiting www.creativebarcode.com, registering online and downloading the software application. It also offers prospective buyers the route to collaboration, purchase or licensing of concepts.

A high-visibility Creative Barcode^™ (seen above) can be inserted into a wide range of digital, text, graphic or CAD files, or paper-based media. Registered users can forward their project files to third parties via the Creative Barcode^™ file transfer area, which adds a password unique to the recipient when downloading. This enables the system to track third party receipt of files, and registers the recipient’s agreement to their permission-based conditions.

In addition, a ‘transfer of ownership’ feature is built into the Creative Barcode™ software application which can also record relevant exclusions, trading areas etc. This enables those selling or licensing their concepts to re-assign ownership to the purchaser and generate a ‘transfer of ownership’ certificate. Until this is done, the work remains the sole property of the originator.

“Creative Barcode is an ethical, efficient and transparent method of knowledge and concept exchange which optimises open innovation,” said Emily Miller, Creative Barcode’s MD.

The problem until now had been that professional originators such as industrial designers, inventors, scientists, technologists, design engineers and others risk the misappropriation of the core proposition, know-how or creative intent of their work when presenting confidential ideas, concepts and proposals that are still at a conceptual stage to prospective investors, business partners and customers. Before Creative Barcode^™ little or no meaningful protection of such conceptual knowledge-based work had been possible.

“Creative Barcode^™ is a long awaited-innovation that creates a level playing field between originators and prospective route-to-market-partners,” said Maxine Horn, Creative Barcode’s CEO.

“The vulnerability originators previously faced, due to the risk of misappropriation of their previously-unprotected work, has been one of the biggest issues affecting the motivation and growth of the creative industries. That barrier to open innovation and knowledge exchange can now be dismantled and replaced with our new, permission-based, ethical trading model.”

A Creative Barcode^™ forms an agreement between all parties that the tagged propositions, proposals and creative works may not be commercialised by those commissioning, soliciting, viewing or negotiating the use of them without the originator’s permission. In this way, Creative Barcode^™ benefits both originators and procurers by encouraging trust-based opportunities for collaboration, open innovation and the trading of concepts between originators and route-to-market partners.

Creative Barcode^™ also supports best practice in ethical trading and procurement policies. To this end the company has also launched an online Trust Charter^© to enable creative firms, clients, investors, trade bodies and others to register their support for ethical trading policies.

The online one-off initial registration fee of £30 + VAT includes five barcodes.[Updated 05/2011]. Additional barcodes, costing from £4 each, based on quantity of barcodes purchased, can be bought online as required. Further information is available at www.creativebarcode.com