Intellectual Property Flashcards
Copyright Statute of Limitation
3 years; length of time you have to file a case; start time determined by when the other publication came out or when you should’ve known about it
Defenses for trademarks
Fair Use
Patent
If you have a patent, you can exclude others from making, selling, using, or importing your invention
Protected by Copyright Act of 1976
federal set of laws that precede over copyrights
Copyright
When an author has the exclusive right to use and protect their own work.
What can be patented?
- Has to be an invention that has utility, design, or plant
- Utility is technical, structural invention that you use to achieve something
- Design is something ornamental in nature
- Plant is something that is manmade and not found in nature
What cannot be patented?
abstract ideas, laws of nature, and physical phenomenon’s
Requirements for a patent:
- Subject matter
- Utility- useful or provides a benefit in some way
- Novelty- no one else has created it
- Non-obvious
Term of protection for a patent:
20 years minus the time that the patent spent in the application
Remedies for patents:
monetary judgment or injunction (official order from the court)
Trademark:
Some sort of sign or mark that is used by a person with the intention to use the device or service in commerce.
Criteria for trademarks:
distinctive, not scandalous, not deceptive, cannot consist of the emblem in any country, cannot resemble a persons signature or likeness without their consent, cannot resemble any other trademark or service mark, cannot be geographically descriptive of a products origin
Service Mark:
Used in the sale or advertising of services to distinguish a person and their services from each other…character names, titles, features of tv/radio programs
Tradename
A name, word, or phrase, used by someone in business as a means of identifying their product or services, to establish a reputation and good will (not registered)
Trademark Act of 1946 (Lanham Act)
establishes what the definition is for trademarks and any law or regulations
4 Degrees of Trademark Protection:
- Fanciful
- Arbitrary
- Suggestive
- Descriptive
Fanciful protection:
highest level of protection bc it is a word that was invented just for that product. (Ex: kleenex)
Arbitrary protection:
word that already exists but its arbitrarily applied to the product. (Ex: Apple Computers)
Suggestive protection:
word that hints at the product but you don’t necessarily know what it does. (Ex: Coppertone)
Descriptive protection:
weakest legal protection when it comes to trademarks; describes qualities, ingredients, or characteristics of the product.