Intellectual property protection and rights are actually legally recognized exclusive rights to the creations of the mind. Under the intellectual property laws, owners are usually granted certain exclusive rights to various intangible assets, such as works related to music, works related to literature, works related to arts, along with discoveries and inventions; and words, specific phrases, symbols, and of course designs.
Common types of this intellectual property rights include the trademarks, the copyrights, the patents and the industrial design rights. In some jurisdictions, trade secrets are also included in the list of intellectual property rights. Though it is true that many of the legal principles surrounding and governing intellectual property rights have already evolved through centuries, it was not until in the 19th century that this intellectual property term appeared and began to be used, and it is not until in the late 20th century that the term became common in the majority and for the rest of the world. In case you do not know, The British Statute of Anne in 1710 and the Statute of Monopolies in 1624 are actually now being credited as the origin source of this copyright and patent law respectively.
Patent: An Intellectual Property Protection Agreement
A patent usually grants an inventor the right to actually exclude others from making, selling, using, offering to sell, and even importing an invention for just a limited period of time. To further define, an invention is actually a solution to a specific technical and technological problem, which may actually be a product or even a process.
Moreover, inventions are crucial to the actual success of many businesses. If the business has actually developed a new and better process, product or service that is quite unique and useful, such specific business will actually want to protect this competitive advantage over others through obtaining a patent. It is the holder of a patent that can actually stop third parties from making, selling or even using his invention for a relative period of time depending on the type of patent applied and depending on the invention you will find.
Obtaining a patent can usually be complicated, so you may actually seek the services of an attorney with extensive experience in the patent law to help you. If the type of business you actually make is the type in which inventions are created on a regular take, then it is very important indeed that you have a clear and better understanding about who actually owns the inventions in that date.
A copyright actually gives the creator the original exclusive rights to a specific work, usually for a limited amount of time. Copyrights may actually apply to a wide range and variety of creative, intellectual, or even artistic works. This kind of intellectual property right does not cover information and ideas themselves, and only deals with the manner and form in which they are actually expressed.
To define further, a copyright usually provides protection for numerous original works of authorship that are fixed in a various tangible forms and mediums of expressions including the literary, musical, and numerous dramatic works, as well as with photographs, visual and audio recordings, software, and other various intellectual works at care.
This copyright protection usually begins as soon as a specific work is fixed in a specific tangible medium. The author should then immediately begin using the copyright symbol as a method of instructing and informing others that he actually intends to exercise power and control over the production, display, distribution, and the performance of the specific work. While it is not actually necessary to file for such copyright protection, still by doing so, it will actually eventually make it easier for you to seek court enforcement of the copyright.
Industrial Design Rights
An industrial design right is usually used to protect the visual design and pattern of objects that are not usually purely utilitarian. It consists of the creation of a specific shape, configuration or even composition of color or pattern, or even of a combination of color and pattern in three-dimensional form containing artistic aesthetic value.
Trademarks & Service Marks
A trademark is usually a recognizable sign, expression or design which distinguishes products and services of a particular retailer from the similar products and services of other traders. It protects the name of a particular product by preventing other businesses from selling the product under the same name.
Actually, having a unique, distinct, identifiable name for a specific product is an advantage for a specific business. The trademark law actually seeks to protect the consumers from the deception or confusion by preventing other businesses from actually using the same or indeed a very confusingly similar name for their own products.
A service mark is alternatively used when what the business sells is actually a service rather than a particular product. One must remember that being the first to actually use the same name is important to further protect the continuing right to operate under the same name. However, in this particular intellectual property right, filing is indeed important for the service mark’s enforcement and for its right.
The first step that you should do in filing for trademark registration is by actually performing a trademark search. This particular step is extremely important simply because it could actually prevent you from extensively investing in the promotion of a particular product under a trademark that is actually in use by other parties. An attorney who practices in this particular area of intellectual property can also help you deal with trademark searches and applications.
Trade Secrets On How To Protect Intellectual Property
A trade secret is actually a formula, practice, process, design, pattern, or a compilation of information in which it is not generally known or even reasonably ascertainable and by which a business can further obtain relative economic advantage over customers and competitors.
In the United States for example, the trade secret law is actually primarily handled at the state jurisdiction level under a specific law in the name of Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which have been adopted by most states. The said trade secret law also operates under a federal law, in the form of Economic Espionage Act of 1996 in which theft or even misappropriation of a trade secret is considered to be a federal crime.
Objectives of Intellectual property defined
The objective of most intellectual property rights and law, of course with the exception of the trademarks, is to actually promote progress. This progress is said to be done by exchanging some limited exclusive rights for the disclosure of inventions and other creative works. Such progress can also be measured if both the society and the patentee do mutually benefit, and if an incentive is created for authors, creators and inventors to disclose their work.