Protecting Design and Intellectual Property Flashcards
Intellectual property (IP)
An idea that is turned into a physical creation that didn’t already exist - e.g. A book, film, handbag etc
Ideas alone don’t count as IP - physical format of some kind is compulsory
Uniqueness is essential when seeking to protect IP - via intellectual property rights (IPR)
Copyright
Copyright is the legal protection for work such as books, photos, drama, music, TV programmes, software etc
Copyright is for artistic and literary works
Allows management of permission for others to use work (e.g. Licensing photos for use in books)
The UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 provides cover for most works for 70 years after the death of the creator
Using the copyright symbol makes it easier to assert ownership
The UK Copyright Service provides independent evidence of authorship facility
Registration is not required but ownership is hard to prove in a dispute
Unregistered design rights
Provide legal protection for designers to stop unauthorised copying for 10 years
They cover appearance not how products work
E.g. Copyright
Patents
The government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) grants legal rights (patents) for novel inventions
Apply only to working parts of a design
Provide up to 20 years legal protection
Complicated and expensive to obtain
Essential that the invention is completely new or significantly improves an existing design
Detailed, labelled diagrams and clear descriptions are central to submissions
Patent attorneys check patents prior to submission
Publication of a patent encourages further invention
Registered designs
Offer protection for product appearance and decoration, not working parts
Designs are registered for up to 25 years by submitting illustrations and a fee to the IPO
Trademarks and logos
Give legal protection for brand identity and facilitate marketing
A recognisable combination of colours, words, sounds and logos is important for companies
A logo is a graphical symbol - needs to instantly identifiable and unique
A trademark can incorporate graphics but can be just a word or phrase
Trademarks are registered by making an application and paying a fee to the IPO
Trademarks need to be renewed every 10 years
The R symbol is used to warn others that it’s trademarked
Open design
Communal, altruistic approach to design that is intended to realise products and systems for the common good of society, rather than financial reward
Rejects the use of IPR and encourages collaboration and sharing
Many open designs are internet based and involve free open source software (FOSS)
Examples of open design - Practical action
An organisation promoting ‘technology justice’ to challenge poverty in developing countries
Produces copies or designs for life-improving projects such as water pumping and purification systems, ploughs and aerial ropeways
Examples of open designs - Fairphone
An open source software-based, modular, easily upgraded and repaired mobile phone challenging the current trend to discard mobile phones every couple of years
Example of open design - 1950s shipping container
1950s shipping container patents were leased to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) free of royalties, facilitating current worldwide freight transport
Creative Commons licence
Used in open design
Public copyright licence that enables free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work
Used to maintain an originator’s rights but allow development
IPR examples
Copyright
Patents
Creative Commons licence
Unregistered design rights
Registered design rights
Trademarks
