Intellectual Property Flashcards
What is included in intellectual property?
- Patents
- Trademarks
- Copyrights
- Industrial Designs
What constitutes an patent of invention?
Must be novel and useful, and must be reduced to something physical that can be patentable.
What rights does an employee engineer have?
The invention remains the property of the employee.
Except
- if the employee signs an agreement
- the employee is, by nature of the employment, expected to invent
What is a trademark?
A mark used to distinguish the products or services of a person from those of others
What are the 5 conditions necessary to register a trademark?
- Distinctiveness from other products
- Not a name or surname
- Does not depict quality of product, or persons employed, or place or origin.
- Not the name of the product
- Not confusing with other trademarks
What is passing off regarding trademarks?
When a person is using the same tradmark to misrepresent products or services as being those from another person.
What is copyright?
The sole right to produce or reproduce.
Who is the owner of the copyright?
The author…
Except if the author is specifically hired to produce original work. Then it’s the employers
What is a moral right?
The right to be identified as the author
The right to the integrity of the work (cannot be altered)
What is an industrial design?
Aesthetic, not functional design. Purely visual design that give specific appearance.
What is a trade secret?
Kinda of like an invention but private. Needs to remain secret.
What are courts looking for to determine a trade secret?
- Is it general knowledge?
- How much effort is put in to keep it a secret?
- How valuable is it to competitors?
- How much effort went in to developing it?
What is an engineers responsibility regarding trade secrets?
They are obligated to keep it secret even after termination of employment.
