Intro to Intellectual Property

What are Intellectual Property Rights?

Intellectual Property Rights or IPR refer to a set of rights, which protect the creations of mind. The main areas of IPR include patents, trademarks, designs, and copyrights. In this article we will explore the rights associated with these concepts.

Patents

By patenting an invention, the patent owner gets exclusive rights over it. This means, that the patent owner can stop anyone from using, making, or selling the invention. Generally, patents last for a certain amount of time, typically 20 years. When this period expires, anyone can then use, make or sell the invention.

The invention, for which one seeks a patent, must offer something new and involve an innovative step in a technical field. You acquire a patent by application to either national or international authorities, depending on where you want your patent to be applicable. This application must fulfill certain requirements. It must describe the invention in detail and enlist one or more patent claims, for which protection is sought.

In this way, patents serve to give companies and inventors a return on their investment, and at the same time make the invention public to inspire others to further deepen research and innovation.

Trademarks

Trademarks are protected for the owner to control the use of certain distinctive details of their business. This means that companies can develop their products and services without damaging their reputation. It also gives the consumers information about the origin of a product or a service.

All sorts of signs may be used as trademarks, including words, symbols, images, and even tastes and smells. Also, protection of domain names on the internet has an important role to play in today’s information age.

Protection for trademarks can be acquired by application or by use. A trademark by registration is granted for a limited period but can be renewed as many times the owner wishes, so long as the trademark is still in use. Protection by registration can be obtained on a national and international level. To be eligible for protection, a trademark must be distinctive. This means it cannot just be a generic description of a product or service nor can it be identical or very similar to a trademark already registered or in use for that product or service.

Industrial Designs

Industrial design rights cover the aesthetic or ornamental elements of a product and gives the owner exclusive rights to commercial production, importation and sale of product with the protected design. To qualify for protection as an industrial design, the design must be new and show a degree of originality, meaning that it is not identical or very similar to any previous design. Industrial design rights are often acquired by registration, but many countries also give limited protection to unregistered designs.

Protection by registration can be obtained on a national or international level. Industrial design rights last for a limited period, typically 25 years, and have to be renewed if the owner wants to keep the right for the maximum period.

Copyrights

Copyrights describe rights that creators have in their literary, artistic, or scientific works. These works include among other things books, music, films and computer programs. There are also rights associated with the copyrighted works, including performer, broadcaster and producer rights.

Copyright includes both economic and moral rights. Economic rights deal with the exclusive right to control the distribution of the work. Moral rights are the right to be acknowledged as the author of a work and to prevent it from being used or altered in a way which might damage the reputation of the author.

Acquisition of copyright is formless and happens as soon as the work is created. Copyright last throughout the life of the creator and for at least 50 years after his or her death. Copyrighted works are often protected in many countries, not just the country in which they were created.

UK Rights and Brexit

This article does not deal with intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom specifically nor the consequences Brexit have had on IPR. We will dive into the specifics of the current climate in the EU and UK further in the IP series. Stay tuned.