Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Intellectual property definition

What does Intellectual property mean? Intellectual property describes intangible legal rights in creative, technical and branding outputs used and enforced in commercial practice, often abbreviated to IP or IPR. In the UK and Ireland the term is descriptive rather than a single statutory definition; discrete rights arise under specific regimes, typically including copyright, patents, trade marks, registered and unregistered designs, database right, trade secrets and confidential information, and the common law tort of passing off. These rights are territorial, generally time‑limited (trade secrets/confidential information can subsist indefinitely if secrecy is maintained), and confer exclusive rights that can be licensed, assigned, charged as security and...

Digital health IP protection: UK and EU practice for patents, designs, trade marks, copyright, database rights, trade secrets, open source, ownership, licensing and data protection across the product lifecycle

Published by a LexisNexis Life Sciences expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note outlines the range of Intellectual property (IP) protections available for a digital health product. It further explores ancillary IP issues, including safeguarding as a trade secret, incorporation of open-source software, possible Ownership conflicts with staff and contractors, IP licences, and safeguarding patient information. The Practice Note additionally reviews IP planning throughout digital health product creation, from ideation and early research through advertising, marketing and sale, and on to later enhancements and upgrades.

What is digital health?

Digital health sits where healthcare IT meets medical devices, and encompasses the use of data to support diagnosis, treatment, prevention and monitoring of disease, as well as providing support to healthcare practitioners.

Using digital health devices to track patients can widen access to healthcare services without markedly raising costs. Such devices can feed back to clinicians in real time, enabling swift identification of abnormal variations or inconsistencies so that prompt, appropriate measures can be taken.

Digital health technologies include offerings such as:

mobile health (or m-health)—the use of mobile communication devices, such as mobile phones and smart watches, for health

Collectively, these topics frame IP strategy during digital health product development, from conception to research, advertising, marketing, sale, and onward improvements...

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Dr. Fiona Kellas

Maucher Jenkins

Fiona graduated from the University of Glasgow with an Honours degree in Biochemistry and was subsequently awarded a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge. During her PhD, Fiona carried out research in the MRC LMB (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology) and in the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit in Cambridge. During her research Fiona carried out structural studies on the ATP synthase enzyme in the laboratory of Professor Sir John Walker.Fiona is a qualified UK and European Patent Attorney. In addition to working in private practice, Fiona has experience of working in-house in the intellectual property department of an antibody technology company. Fiona has experience of drafting and prosecuting patent applications, preparing and filing design applications, as well as prior art and freedom to operate searching and assessment. Fiona has worked in a wide range of...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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