3: Intellectual Property Flashcards
The 2=6(+1) Different forms of Intellectual Property Rights
and the 3 alternatives
IP rights:
1. copyright
2. Industrial Property A. patent right B. trade marks C. designs and models C.1) registered design rights D. breeding rights E. chips
Alternatives:
- secrecy
- complexity & tacit knowledge
- speed to market
copyright
- protects what
- doesn’t protect what
- arises how
- against what
- needs what
§ Protects original literary, dramatic, artistic and other works, including software, photographs, manuals, broadcasts, sound recordings, etc.
§ No protection for concepts or ideas, just the way they are expressed
§ Arises automatically = free
§ Protects against copying, adaptation, etc.
§ Need good records of creation date and author
copyright: material vs moral rights
+ 5 material rights
transferable vs non transferable!
§ Assure a compensation to the author for his creation
§ The author holds the exclusive right to
§ reproduce or let reproduce his creation
§ disclose the creation to the public (eg radio or tv) § change or translate his work
§ sell or rent his work
trademark
- protects what
- definition
- needs what
- arises how
- valid where & when
§ Protect brands
§ A sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one
undertaking from those of other undertakings – a distinctive sign
§ Must not conflict with existing registrations for similar goods or services
§ Must be registered in different countries or territories
§ Europe-wide protection available / renewable
2 + 4 types of trademarks
§ Visual trademarks
- House mark
- Product mark
- Quality marks
- ‘Wool mark’, Soil
- Shapes/ appearance of products
§ Sound-based trademarks
Design Rights
- protects what
- needs what
- arises how, when
- valid where & when
§ Protect appearance of product – shape, colour, texture materials, ornamentation etc.
§ Designs must be “new and of individual character”
§ Unregistered Design Right arises automatically in Europe = free
§ In Europe or USA, application can be filed up to one year from first marketing
§ Registered Design protection lasts longer and is stronger
§ Cost-effective Europe-wide protection available
Registered VS. unregistered design rights
- protect what
- how
- how to register
- duration
- excluded
- owner
- Novel design which has “eye appeal”
- Monopoly right
- Registration in designs registry at Patent Office
- 25y
- author or employer, if during employment
- Excluded:
- Methods or principles of construction (see patents)
- Features dictated solely by the product’s function,
- Features dependent upon the appearance of another article of which the design forms an integral part
Patent
- def.: state-individual deal
- allows what
- validity in time, space & conditions
- diff. vs. other rights
- cost & time issues
§ deal with the state: Fully disclose your new idea and you get a limited-time
monopoly
§ Civil law right to prevent others from using your idea
§ can be challenged by competitors at any time until it expires 20 years later
§ you must file in different countries (or the EU)
- protects effect of product, not image
- a patent gives a product and a company legitimacy in the eyes of prospective investors and partners
- A patent is expensive but there are cheaper preparatory steps
- 3 to 5y in EU
The 3 conditions for a patent:
w defs. & conseqs.
Product must be:
§ Novel/ new = Must not form part of the “State of the Art” available to the public
–> keep secret before application (save for local “grace period”)
–> research previous patents first
§ An ‘inventive step’
= Not obvious to a person skilled in the art
§ Capable of industrial application
= Can be made or used in any kind of industry, including agriculture
Excluded from patents:
6 things
§ Discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, aesthetic creations
§ schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business (such as management or teaching methods)
§ presentations of information (see copyright)
§ computer programs (source code – see copyright)
§ plant and animal varieties
§ Inventions likely to encourage offensive, immoral or anti-social behaviour
discovery vs invention
Discovery
§ Finding something which already exists but was hidden in nature a–> not patentable
Invention
§ A creation by which a technical problem is solved, and the solution is neither trivial nor known
–> patentable
patent vs trademark costs in EU
at 12m, 30m & lifetime
@ 12m: 5k vs 1.5k £ @ 30m (next 18m): same > 30m: >£10,000 vs £500 a year for monitoring - lifetime: >£100k vs £1.5k/10y
international patent: how to use
get it, but then nationalize it
Trade secrets
- def
- 5 ways
- 2 problems
- famous counterexample
- idea or process remains a secret
§ Confidential information agreement for employees
§ Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with partners, manufacturers, investors, etc.
§ Use simple security such as locked file cabinets, passwords on computers,…
§ Provide escorts for office visitors
§ Train employees to refer any sensitive questions to one specific member of
the company
- But: difficult to enforce
- most investors will refuse to sign NDAs
+ Coca-Cola recipe!
patenting vs secrecy:
1 pros & 4 cons of patenting
+ Powerful protection enforceable in the courts
- Must be applied for
- Cost
- Cost to enforce
- Publication/disclosure of invention
but this is also often a +
