Patents need to be registered and copyright cannot be registered (in the UK). Trade marks and designs do not need to be registered but we would strongly recommend that they are as it makes protecting, commercialising and enforcing those rights significantly easier and cheaper. If you do not register a trade mark for your name or brand you are relying on the goodwill you have built in it (known as passing off) and somebody else may register it first. A design must be registered within 12 months of first being disclosed.