Forms of Intellectual Property

Forms of Intellectual Property

1. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are rights governed by statute that provide individuals with a right to prevent others from exploiting or abusing their intellectual creations.These rights extend to the protection of inventions, creative works, expressions and brands.

   • The more common forms of IPR are patents, trade
     • Patents
       • It is a legal title granted to an applicant for the protection of an invention. The patent is granted for a period exclusivity of 20-year in most countries. The title granted provides the owner a monopoly on exploitation (making, use, selling, offering for sale and importing) of the invention
         • Conventions and treaties
           • Every country’s legislation includes laws for the protection of IP, However, most countries signed up to international agreements and treaties on the protection of IP and, thus, their patent systems are harmonised to a great extent, such that patent protection at an international level can be conveniently facilitated, registered and administered transnationally in an efficient and economic manner.
             • Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
             • European Patent Convention (EPC).
     • Trade marks
       • A trade mark is the symbol by which the goods of a particular manufacturer or trader can be identified and distinguished from the goods of others.
         • Marks provide protection for the goodwill and reputation of a company in its products and services.A trade mark should not be confused with a company name or business name.
           • International Registration
             • The Community Trade Mark (CTM)
               • Registration of a trade mark under the CTM system then provides protection in all member states of the EU.
             • The Madrid Protocol.
               • The Madrid Protocol is an international system for registration of trade marks in multiple jurisdictions internationally through a single application.
           • The term of a trade mark in most countries is for 10 years, which may be renewed indefinitely for subsequent 10-year terms. The term and maintenance of a trade mark, however, is conditional upon the owner demonstrating use of the mark.
     • Copyright
       • is a form of intellectual property designed to protect the rights of a creator of literary and artistic works, computer programs, and databases.t does not provide protection for the ideas, concepts or inventions.Rather, it protects the "expression" of the ideas and concepts of the author or creator.Copyright is generally applied to prevent copying, plagiarism, and misuse of a work
         • Granting of Copyright
           • copyright does not require any formal application or registration for protection of a creative work. Copyright comes into operation automatically the moment a work is completed
             • Works Protected by Copyright
               • original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, published editions of works, sound recordings, films, videos, broadcasts and cable programmes, computer programs and databases.
                 • International Protection
                   • there are international treaties that deal with copyright and to which most countries have signed up
                     • the Berne Convention
                       • protection of literary and artistic works
                     • Universal Copyright Convention (UCC)
     • Design rights
       • Protection of industrial designs associated the ‘individual character’ of a design.
         • International systems in operation for the protection of industrial designs
           • The Community Design system
             • single unified system for the protection of designs across
               • Requirements: It must fall within the definition of a ‘design’; It must be novel, and It must have ‘individual character’. It also must have industrial application
                 • The registered design provides protection for an initial term of five years, and for up to 25 years in total, upon payment of the renewal fees for each successive five-year period.
           • The Hague Agreement.
             • It allows individuals and businesses in the EU to avail of a single application system for the international registration of an industrial design
               • The term of protection can be for up to 15 years, with an initial five-year period renewable for two further five-year periods.
     • Secret Know-How
       • This form of IP usually relates to a technology process or manufacturing method, which is not patented either because it does not satisfy the criteria for patentability, or because a decision is made not to patent it
         • For added protection, valuable confidential information that is important to the operation of a business should be carefully copied and stored preferably in a fireproof safe. As a fall-back, a duplicate also should be stored safely in another location.
     • Other very important, but specialised, forms of IPR include plant variety rights database rights for the ICT and chip topography rights