Intellectual Property Flashcards
Name the 4 ways to protect intellectual property.
■ Patents,
■ Trade-Marks
■ Trade Secrets
■ Copyrights
Are ideas and concepts protected by IP? Why?
No, ideas and concepts are free for common use. Intellectual Property only protects the result of ideas.
What are 3 things you need to demonstrate to protect a trade secret?
■ Information has the necessary quality of confidence
■ Information shared under an expectation of confidentiality
■ Unauthorized use of information
How can companies protect trade secrets?
By using confidentiality
What is one advantage and disadvantage of trade secrets?
■ Potentially longer lasting than a patent without registration
■ Easy to lose
What does copyright fundamentally protect? What rights does it give you? List 4.
■ Ownership of work
■ Protection from copies
■ Exclusive right to copy, publish, distribute
■ Authorization to others to use
Name 4 types of common works that can be copyrighted.
■ Literary works
■ Dramatic works
■ Musical works
■ Artistic works
What is primary and secondary copyright infringement?
■ Primary – doing things that only the owner has the rights to do
■ Secondary – selling, renting and importing the copyrighted thing
What type of laws are trademarks covered under? How long are trademarks valid?
■ Common law; 15 years
What are the characteristics of a strong and weak trade mark?
■ Strong – distinctive & inventive, adjective
■ Weak – has a secondary meaning, noun
What is a patent and how long is it good for?
Government-authoirzed monopoly on an invention, 20 years from the application
What cannot be patented?
Mathematics & information
Describe the patent application process.
■ Apply to patent office and wait for 6-12 months to be reviewed
■ Pay maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years
■ Application is published in 18 months
In what two instances will you not own the rights to something you create?
■ If you create it as an employee
■ If you assign it
List the subject, form, duration, scope and weakness of the 4 types of IP protection.
■ Trade secret – information, contract, forever, right to restrict others, once secret is out, protection’s gone
■ Patents – inventions, registration, 20 years, exclusive right to use and sell, expensive and time consuming
■ Copyright – Literacy and artistic works, automatic, lifetime + 70 years, exclusive right to use and sell, Doesnt protect ideas
■ Trademark – words & logos, automatic, forever, protect brand identity, risk of becoming generic
