Type of Intellectual Property Rights, The busy life of the day, where everything is getting quicker than before, intellectual property (IP) rights are playing a very critical role in protecting inventions, innovations, and works. With technology evolving one step further each and every day, IP rights had no bigger job to perform than what they are doing when the individuals and businesses need their inventions, their trademarks, and ideas to be protected. With all of that in this guide, you will be made aware of the intellectual property rights, why they are so phenomenally important, and how they could be applicable to your venture.
What is Intellectual Property (IP)?
Intellectual property (IP) is the legal rights offered to an individual or group of individuals on their own work, creative work. Such type of work is inventions, artistic work, designs, trademark, logos, and confidential information or software, business process, etc. IP gives legal right to creators such that they own the use of their work and get money out of it. Intellectual property is again divided into different types based on work.
Importance of Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property rights are the tools used in innovation, development, and promotion of creativity. IP protection encourages inventors and entrepreneurs to invest in invention, creativity, and innovation since it does not encourage their use or replication without consent. Through controlling ideas, IP rights create a rational platform upon which inventors, trademarks, and creators can thrive. Moreover, such rights create an avenue of product licensing and merchandising, thus boosting the economy.
Types of Intellectual Property
There are various intellectual property rights that are prevalent in the world. They vary depending on the work they cover and protection they provide. Let us emphasize the most sought-after types of intellectual property:
1. Copyright
Copyright is the most common intellectual property. Copyright safeguards original work of authorship, literary, musical, dramatic, and artistic. Published works and unpublished works. Copyright grants exclusive rights to the creator of reproduction, distribution, performance, display, or licensing of work. They are of significant significance to save books, movies, computer software, paintings, music, etc.
Key Features of Copyright
- Term: Term of the copyright is generally creator’s life + 70 years, jurisdiction based and exceptions available.
- Rights Granted: Grant of rights by medium of copyright gives exclusive right of copying, distribution, adaptation and public display work.
- Protection for Expression: Idea and not expression of idea is protected in copyright. If plot of novel is an idea, but that written piece of work is expression and hence under cover of copyright.
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2. Patents
Patent is a right of property granted to an inventor of an innovative process or innovation. Patent gives exclusive invention rights of the invention to the inventor for certain limited time (usually 20 years from filing date) so that no one will employ, manufacture, or sell the invention without consent of the inventor. Patents are awarded mainly for inventions of technology, machine, process, and chemical compound.
Chief Characteristics of Patents
- Novelty: The invention must be new and neither prior art nor used earlier.
- Utility: The invention must be useful and be able to do something.
- Non-Obviousness: The invention must not be obvious for someone skilled in the art.
- Duration: Patents have usual lifetime of 20 years after which invention enters public domain.
3. Trademarks
Trademark are an effort to obtain one-of-a-kind marks, names, marks, and logos in order to render goods or services different from another. A trademark is a warning to the public away from a product source or service and to provide quality to them. Right to exclusive use of the mark and to prohibit use of similarly confusing mark is granted by registration of a trademark.
Key Trademark Features
- Inequality: The mark should be distinct and would not likely to cause confusion with another registered mark.
- Commercial use: Trademarks must be used commercially in order to be able to continue being protected.
- Longevity: Trademarks are able to continue in the long term if they continue to be used for commercial purposes.
4. Trade Secrets
Trade secrets are confidential business information that grants a competitive edge to a firm. Trade secrets are confidential business information like processes, formulae, designs, practices, customer lists, and other company details that can be helpful to the company. Trade secrets are different from marks or patents because they do not necessarily need to be registered if the owner employs reasonable means in maintaining confidentiality regarding the information.
Key Characteristics of Trade Secrets
- Secret Nature: The data must be a secret and not available publicly.
- Economic Value: The data must be of economic value as it cannot be public or easily accessible.
- No Time Limit: Trade secrets are never time-barred if the secret is functional.
5. Industrial Designs
Industrial designs are a right that is conferred to the owner of the outer appearance of a product. Industrial designs can be the form, shape, or color of a product that makes it handsome or unique to the eye. Industrial designs can be distinguished from patents, whose purpose is to protect the functionality of an invention. Industrial designs are akin to the appearance of a product.
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Key Industrial Design Features
- Novelty: It should be new and novel.
- Aesthetic Appeal: It should look good to view and pleasing and make the product as a whole look good.
- Duration: Protection is usually 15-25 years since jurisdiction requires.
IP protection of the companies involved in such sectors as fashion, product design, or packaging guarantees that their designs would never be copied by business rivals. IP right protection thereof allows them to establish brand identity hassle-free, thereby allowing the brand to become search-engine friendly and popular on the internet.
6. Geographical Indications (GIs)
Geographical indication (GI) is a sign of traditional geographic product and possess features, reputation, or qualities related to the place. GIs mainly employ farm produce, wines, spirits, and other handicrafts. Champagne is a GI of a French sparkling wine that is made within the region of Champagne.
Principal Features of Geographical Indications:
- Origin: The product must possess a clearly defined geographical origin.
- Quality or Reputation: It should have such qualities typical of the region, i.e., quality features, culture, or mode of production.
- Duration: GIs themselves become automatically protected if the product is of the standards of quality described in the GI.
Conclusion
Intellectual Property rights are a good driver to business success, creativity, and innovation. Understand the various types of IP rights—copyright, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, industrial designs, and geographical indications—is going to help inventors, creators, and businesses protect their intellectual property and stay in the game in business. Protection of an IP right is in the interest of businesses not only to protect their innovations, but also so that they are able to capitalize on their ideas and endure long-term.