Protecting your Property

Question 1

What is intellectual property?

Answer 1

Non-physical property that is the product of original thought.

Question 2

What are IP rights?

Answer 2

Legal rights given to a person for a creation of their mind.
This idea must be physical e.g. product or design.
Issued by governments.

Question 3

What are the types of intellectual property?

Answer 3

Copyright, industrial rights(trademarks, design rights, patents), confidential information(trade secrets).

Question 4

What can copyright protect?

Answer 4

Literary work, dramatic work, musical work, art work, recordings, broadcasts.

Question 5

What does a person possessing a copyright gain and how do you do it?

Answer 5

Only they can make money from their material unless licensed.
Control making and issuing copies, public performances and broadcasts/online use.
Lasts 70 years after author’s death.
This can be accomplished by proving you created it before anyone else (automatic).

Question 6

Give an example of copyright infringement:

Answer 6

Jeff Koons produced a sculptor that had a huge resemblance to a photo by Art Rogers. Koons was ordered to settle with Rogers financially.

Question 7

How does IP work with computer software?

Answer 7

Programs and games are given the same rights as literary works(70 years after death) and are protected by copyright.
Some computer implemented inventions are patentable whilst others are not. This depends on its function and how specialised it is.

Question 8

What is a trademark?

Answer 8

Any sign which can distinguish goods and services of one trader from that of another.
Can be words, logos or pictures.
A new law allows dynamic trademarks featuring motions, multimedia elements, holograms or 3D elements.

Question 9

What is a design right?

Answer 9

A design refers to the appearance of the whole part of a product.
A design right is not a monopoly right but a right to prevent deliberate copying.
Last 25 years, registration and renewal has to be paid for.

Question 10

What are patents?

Answer 10

Patents protect new inventions and cover:
1. How things work.
2. How they do it.
3. What they do.
4. What they are made of.
5. How they are made.
Last 20 years from date of filing.

Question 11

What criteria must a patent meet?

Answer 11

New (No public art prior to applying).
Have an inventive step (Not an obvious modification to what is already known).
Be capable of being made or used in some kind of industry.

Question 12

How do companies use IP?

Answer 12

Have it at the heart of their strategy.
Can give a competitive advantage.
Companies buy IP to ‘ring fence’ new inventions to stop competitors using similar designs.
IP is like any other property i.e. can be bought sold licensed etc.

Question 13

How does the licensing process work?

Answer 13

1. Inventor
2. Agreement to license.
3. Agreement negotiated.
4. Company uses IP to produce product.
5. Product sold.
6. Inventor and producer share profits.

Question 14

What is IP infringement?

Answer 14

The unauthorized use of someone’s IP.

Question 15

Give some examples of IP infringement:

Answer 15

Fake drugs sold online with different components (can be dangerous).
Lindt vs Haribo for chocolate bears resembling gummy bears (Lindt won but did have to remove them from stores for a period).
Wii controllers infringed on iLife Techs motion sensing patents (Nitendo settled for $10 mil).