Intellectual
Property Rights
In law, particularly in common law jurisdictions, intellectual
property or IP refers to a legal entitlement which sometimes
attaches to the expressed form of an idea, or to some
other intangible subject matter. This legal entitlement
generally enables its holder to exercise exclusive rights
of use in relation to the subject matter of the IP. The
term intellectual property reflects the idea that this
subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect,
and that IP rights may be protected at law in the same
way as any other form of property.
• Intellectual Property
• Software patent
Legal systems for the protection of IP rights exist around
the world and are becoming increasingly harmonised through
the effects of international treaties such as the WTO
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights.
Overview
The most well known forms of intellectual property include
copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Patents
and trademarks fall into a particular subset of intelectual
property known as industrial property.
* Copyright may subsist in creative and artistic works
(such as books, movies, music, paintings, photographs
and software)
* A patent may be granted in relation to a new and useful
invention
* A trademark is a distinctive sign which is used to distinguish
the products or services of one business from those of
another business
* A trade secret is an item of confidential information
concerning the commercial practices or proprietary knowledge
of a business.
The five main types of non-physical things considered
to comprise intellectual property are copyrights, patents,
trademarks, designs and confidential information (in some
jurisidctions referred to as trade secrets. Common types
of intellectual property rights protect different types
of intangible subject matter:
* Copyrights, which give the holder some exclusive rights
to control reproduction or adaptation of creative works,
such as books, music, films and visual arts for a certain
period of time.
* Patents give the holder an exclusive right to commercially
exploit an invention for a certain period, typically 20
years from the filing date of a patent application.
* Trademarks or trade marks are distinctive names, phrases
or marks used to identify products to consumers as having
been produced or marketed by a particular source and can
be registered or unregistered.
* Designs are the form of appearance, style or design
of an industrial object, for example furniture or textiles.
* Confidential information protects the value or secrecy
of information or knowledge. In some jurisdictions confidential
information is called trade secrets; in others, trade
secrets are that subset of confidential information related
to commercial activity. A trade secret would be where
a company keeps information secret, perhaps by enforcing
a contract under which those given access to the information
are not permitted to disclose it to others.
These rights, conferred by law, can be given, sold, granted
to others (called "licensing") and, in some
countries, even mortgaged, in much the same way as physical
property (especially real property). However, the rights
have limitations, including term limits and other considerations
(such as intersections with fundamental rights and the
codified or statutory provisions for fair use for copyright
works). Some analogize these considerations to public
easements, since they grant the public certain rights
which are considered essential. It is important to appreciate
that different countries may have subtle or dramatic differences
in the scope or protection and pernmitted uses of different
types of intellecual property. A fair use in one jurisdiction
can easily be an infringing use elsewhere.
Controversy
The basic public policy rationale for the protection of
intellectual property is that IP laws facilitate and encourage
disclosure of innovation into the public domain for the
common good, by granting authors and inventors exclusive
rights to exploit their works and invention for a limited
period.
However, various schools of thought are critical of the
very concept of intellectual property, and some characterise
IP as intellectual protectionism. There is ongoing debate
as to whether IP laws truly operate to confer the stated
public benefits, and whether the protection they are said
to provide is appropriate in the context of innovation
derived from such things as traditional knowledge and
folklore, and patents for software and business methods.
Manifestations of this controversy can be seen in the
way different jurisdictions decide whether to grant intellectual
property protection in relation to subject matter of this
kind, and the North-South divide on issues of the role
and scope of intellectual property laws.
Types of intellectual property
• Copyright
* Geographical indication
* Industrial design rights
* Integrated circuit layout
* Moral rights
* Patent
* Personality rights
* Plant breeders' rights
* Trade dress
* Trademark
* Trade secret
See also:
* Licensing
* Personal property
* Philosophy of copyright
* Real property
* Reverse engineering
* Software patent
inellectual, intllectual, intellecual, intellectal,
itnellectual, inetllectual, intlelectual, intelelctual,
intellcetual, intelletcual, intellecutal, intellectaul,
ntellectual, itellectual, intellectul, intellectua, nitellectual,
intelectual, intellctual, intelletual, roperty, porperty,
proprety, proprty, propertie
See:
• Patent
• Patent
Prosecution Process
• Patentable
Subject Matter
• General
Patent Corporation Wins Reexamination for Acticon Patents
• Intellectual Property - The 3 Branches: Copyrights, Patents & Trademarks
• Patent - How To Get One
• Patent Expert Offer Free Do-It-Yourself Patent Course to Independent Inventors
|
