Copyright – Protecting your brand

If you are a virtual assistant running your own business, you will know how much time, energy and creativity goes into building your brand. Whether it is your logo, your website, your business name or your copy, protecting what you have spent precious time creating is an important part of running a professional and secure business.

At the Society of Virtual Assistants, we often get asked about copyright, trademarks and what to do if someone copies your content, so we have put together this guide to help answer some of the most commonly asked questions.

This, by the way, is not legal advice, but it will help you understand your rights, signpost you to the right organisations and inform you of what steps you can take. If you are unsure or need help with a specific case, it is always best to speak to a solicitor who specialises in intellectual property law.

Protecting Your Website and Domain Name

Your website is a good place to start, it is usually the first impression a potential client gets of your business. It reflects your professionalism and expertise, and is a demonstration of your brand,  your ethics and values and, of course, it gives information about who you are and what you offer.  So, you will want to be sure that you protect it.

Buy the relevant domain extensions.

If, for example, your business is called “Bright Typing Services” and you own bright-typing.co.uk, consider also buying bright-typing.com, .net or .org if they are available as this prevents someone else from using a similar name and confusing your clients. You can easily set up redirects so they all point to your main website.

Always register your domain name yourself.

Never let a web designer do it for you, even if they offer. You need to be the named registrant and have full control over renewals and access. Otherwise, you could be left in a difficult position if the relationship ends badly or if the domain is allowed to expire.

.com and .co.uk still carries a lot of weight.

It is often the first domain people will try.  .com especially if you are working with international clients. If these are not available, it might be worth rethinking the business name to avoid any confusion.

Copyright: What You Automatically Own

As a virtual assistant, you are creating original work all the time, blog posts, client documents, presentations and more.

Under straight-forward UK law, you automatically hold copyright over anything original that you create, the moment it is fixed in a tangible form (for example, written down, saved, or recorded), and you do not have to register it.

There is a few caveats to this, however.

For example, when you post content on a social media platform. When you sign up to any social media platform, you agree to their terms and conditions, and this often includes a licence for them to use, distribute, modify, and even sublicense your content.

As well as this, if you are creating content for a client, check your contract. If they have paid you to produce something specifically for them (such as a logo, website, graphics or copy), they own the copyright once the work is delivered, unless you have stated otherwise.

Proving copyright ownership can be a life-line, and if a dispute arises, you can:

• Keep dated drafts or versions on a secure system like Google Drive or OneDrive
• Email the document to yourself or save it in a time-stamped project management tool
• Use a physical method like posting a sealed copy to yourself via Special Delivery and storing it unopened.
• Include a copyright notice. This is not legally required, but it shows that you are taking your rights seriously.
• Use the © symbol followed by your name or business name and the year. For example:
  © Bright Admin Services 2025

Trademarks: Protecting Your Brand Identity

If your business name, slogan or logo is a key part of your identity and you want to stop others from using something similar, you may want to register it as a trademark.

You can apply via the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) at www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark.

The process involves checking that nobody else has already registered something similar, applying for your trademark in the relevant category (called a “class”), and waiting for any objections to be raised.  

VAs, incidentally, usually register in Class 35.

Fees start at £170 for one class, with extra costs for additional classes. It takes around four months to register if there are no objections.

Once registered, you can use the ® symbol. Until then, you can use TM to show you consider it a trademark, but this doesn’t offer legal protection.

Side note: Be wary of scam letters offering to register your trademark or demanding extra payments. The IPO has published warnings about these. Only register through the official website or use a trusted IP lawyer.

Passing Off: What If Someone Copies Your Brand?

Even if you don’t have a registered trademark, you are still protected under “passing off” laws. This is where someone tries to benefit from your reputation by using branding or marketing that is very similar to yours, causing confusion.

To take legal action for passing off, you will need to show:

• That your brand has a recognisable reputation.
• That the other party is misrepresenting themselves.
• That it has caused or is likely to cause you financial harm. Supermarkets have challenged one another over this in the past, where their own-brand packaging looked too similar to other well-known products – remember the caterpillar cake case? The same principle applies to service-based businesses.

Importantly…
Make sure your business name and branding are original before you even get started, and always check Companies House and domain registries before settling on a name.

Plagiarism: What to Do When Someone Copies You

Unfortunately, it does happen. Another VA or business may copy your website copy, your logo, name, service structure, branding or even products.

Sometimes it is deliberate. Other times, they simply haven’t done their homework before naming their business, or there is a lack of awareness that it could be an issue. Either way, it is frustrating and potentially very damaging.

So, what you can do:

1. Firstly, gather evidence. Take screenshots and note the URLs.
2. Reach out politely. Send a polite email explaining that they’ve copied your content and request that it be removed within 10 working days.
3. Use tools like Copyscape to monitor for duplicate content.
4. Report it to their web host and/or Google. Hosting companies and search engines will often take down infringing content quickly.
5. If needed, instruct a solicitor to send a formal cease and desist letter.
6. Consider updating your own content if the copied version is harming your Google ranking.

Avoid copying others yourself. Even if you love someone else’s wording or offer, don’t be tempted to lift it. Your marketing should reflect your voice and your experience.  If you love their work, share it and make sure it is clear who wrote it.

SVAs Practical Checklist

If you want to be proactive in protecting your virtual assistant business, here’s a quick checklist:

• Run regular checks using something like  www.copyscape.com.
• Include a copyright notice on your website and materials.
• Register your domain(s) yourself and renew them on time.
• Consider trademarking your business name or logo if it is core to your brand.
• Don’t share content or confidential ideas with competitors without protection.
• If someone copies you, stay calm and professional when reaching out.
• Keep all your content and files well organised and dated.

Final Thoughts
You are your brand when you are running your VA business, and your content, ideas, and presentation are all part of what sets you apart from everyone else.

By taking simple steps to protect your work, you not only secure your own business, but also help raise standards across the industry.

If you need help, have a concern or spot another VA using your content, you can always contact us at the Society of Virtual Assistants. We take plagiarism very seriously, and we will support members to deal with it in a professional way and signpost to helpful organisations that can help.