Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)’ Protection Flashcards
Intellectual property:
a term referring to creations of the intellect for which a monopolyis assigned to designated owners by law!
The stated objective of most intellectual property law (with the exception of trademarks) is:
to “promote progress!”
By exchanging limited exclusive rights for disclosure of inventions and creative works, society and the patentee/copyright owner mutually benefit and an incentive is created for inventors and authors to create and disclose their work.
Types of intellectual property rights (IPR):
Copyrights
Industrial Intellectual Property:
B1. Industrial intellectual creations:
Invention,
Innovation,
Know-how,
Utility models,
Drawings & industrial Models,
Topographies of integrated circuits, etc.
B2. Distinguishing Marks of Industrial Activity:
Brand (factory, trade and service);
Geographical Indications (of origin)
Trade name (company)
Emblem/ mark/ sign.
Intellectual Property Protection in Romania:
Copyrights – are protected by
The Romanian Copyright Office (Oficiul Român pentru Drepturile de Autor/ ORDA/ www.orda.ro/ L8/ 1996).
B. Industrial Intellectual Property Rights - are protected by
The State Office of Inventions and Trademarks
International Organizations for the IPR protection:
The European Union Intellectual Property office/ EUIPO (2016)
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Copyrights:
are designed to protect “works of authorship,” generally referring to works of literature, music, and art that have been “tangibly expressed.”
= gives the creator of an original work, exclusive rights to use it and distribute it, usually for a limited time.
Copyright may apply to a wide range of creative, intellectual, or artistic forms:
scientific (ex. studies, scientific articles etc.)
literary (ex. novels, poetry, literary criticism);
artistic (musical works, choreographic art, photos, etc.).
Not the ideas are the ones protected but the forms they take!
Typically, thedurationof a copyright spans the author’s life plus 50 to 70 years (depending on the jurisdiction).
Industrial Intellectual Property:
B1. Industrial intellectual creations (I)
B1. Industrial intellectual creations (II)
B1. Industrial intellectual creations (I):
Invention = is a unique or novel device method, composition or process.
Some inventions can be patented. A patent legally protects the inventor and legally recognizes that a claimed invention is actually an invention.
The patents granted for inventions protect the technical and functional aspects of the products and processes!
Innovation = is a new idea, a more effective device or process.
The inventor/ innovator is legally entitled to capture the full social and economic value of his/her work!
The rules and requirements for registering a patent for an invention vary from country to country, and the process of obtaining a patent is often expensive.
B1. Industrial intellectual creations (II):
Know-how = a component in the transfer of technology in national and international environments, co-existing with or separate from other IP rights such as patents, trademarks & copyright etc. It can be an economic asset.
Utility models = an incremental/ “smaller” invention that can also be patented.
Industrial Design = is the creative act of determining the visual features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to a finished article; it takes place in advance of the physical act of making a product.
Integrated Circuits Topography = the three-dimensional configurations of electronic circuits embodied in integrated circuit products or layout designs.
Patent Concession / Licensing/ License Agreement:
A license may be granted by a party (“licensor”) to another party (“licensee”) as an element of an agreement between those parties. A license is “an authorization (by the licensor) to use the licensed material (by the licensee).”
The owner of a patent has the exclusive exploitation rights guaranteed by the law!
According to a License Agreement, the licensor, may grant alicensee(underintellectual propertylaws) the right to use his/her patent (including the right to sublicense) under specific conditions (of time, territory, renewal provisions or other limitations deemed vital to the licensor). It is generally a royalty bearing contract.
The Exclusive/ Non-exclusive Patent License Agreement
The Concession Contract = giving up to the intellectual property rights in exchange to a certain amount of money.
B2. Distinguishing Marks of Industrial Activity:
Brand (factory, product, service) = A brand name identifies a specific product or name of a company. It encompasses the visible elements, such as colors, design, logotype, name, symbol etc., that together identify and distinguish products/ services in the consumers’ mind; when a brand name is doing its job, it evokes positive images or emotions in consumers, which is why brand can be so valuable. Because of a brand name’s importance, many companies want to protect it through trademark. And in some cases, the brand name becomes part of the everyday vocabulary (such as: Xerox, for a copy; Adidas for sports shoes)
Trademark. A trademark is a registered brand or trade name. Registering a trademark gives one the legal ownership and the sole right to use it nationwide. Although a trademark has nolimitedterm of existence (it can be always extended), the rights to use it may be lost,duetomisuse or lack of use.
Geographical Indications (of origin) - A label identifying where a product was produced or grown, and implying characteristics or quality particular to that location.
The Brand/ Trademark Value:
intangible asset (intangible) that can represent up to 80% of the total assets of the company (exp .: Tiffany, Bulgaria etc.).
Counterfeiting:
The term counterfeiting refers to activities associated with non-genuine products which violate intellectual property (IP) rights such as patents, technology, trademarks and copyrights.
According to a EU Report (2017), customs authorities detained more than 41 million fake and counterfeit products at the EU’s external borders. The goods had a total value of over €670 million.
Counterfeiting and piracy are detrimental to innovation, directly affecting job creation and economic growth.
Trademarks:
Trademark counterfeitingrefers to the manufacture and distribution of imitations of well-known trademarked merchandise.
Counterfeiting is a deliberate intent to deceive buyers by copying and distributing goods bearing trademarks without authorization from trademark owner.
Trademark Infringement:
(TI) can strip the trademark of its value by causing “confusion among consumers” as to the identity of the product and its origin.
SMEs facing such damaging infringement may have a serious budgeting challenge. If the infringer ignores the firm’s warning to cease, their clients will be forced to file suit to halt the infringement. To succeed in the litigation, the trademark’s owner will be required to prove, among other things, that the infringer’s use of a mark is likely to cause consumer confusion.
But the price of success may be prohibitively expensive. Absent evidence of actual confusion, an aggrieved plaintiff will typically need to prove confusion with so-called consumer survey evidence. This study’s cost, on top of legal fees, may be a too high barrier for an SME, leaving their intellectual property vulnerable to misappropriation by more powerful infringers
Trademark/ brand licensing:
A licensor may grant permission to a licensee to distribute products under a trademark/ brand. With such a license, the licensee may use the trademark without fear of a claim of trademark infringement by the licensor.
The assignment of a license often depends on specific contractual terms. The most common terms are, that a license is only applicable for:
- a particular geographic region,
- just for a certain period of time,
- or merely for a stage in the value chain.
Moreover, there are different types of fees within the trademark/ brand licensing:
a fee independent of sales and profits;
a fee is dependent on the productivity of the licensee
