Introduction to intellectual property law

IPR

1. Intellectual Property Rights
Presented by
Dr. B.Rajalingam
Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
PriyadarshiniCollege of Engineering & Technology, Nellore
Revision (Unit 1)
Introduction to Intellectual Property Law

2. Syllabus
•Introduction to Intellectual Property
•Types of Intellectual Property
•International Organizations, Agencies and Treaties
•Importance of Intellectual Property Rights
Introduction of IPR: Dr. B.Rajalingam12 May 2020 2

3. Introduction to Intellectual Property
•Therearethreedistincttypesofpropertythatindividualsandcompaniescan
own:realproperty,personalproperty&intellectualproperty.
•RealPropertyreferstolandorrealestate.
•PersonalPropertyreferstospecificitemsandthingsthatcanbeidentified,such
asjewelry,cars,andartwork.
•IntellectualPropertyreferstothefruitsorproductofhumancreativity,
includingliterature,advertisingslogans,songs,ornewinventions.
•Propertythatistheresultofthought,namely,intellectualactivity,iscalled
intellectualproperty(IP).
•Insomeforeigncountries,intellectualproperty(especiallypatentsand
trademarks)isreferredtoasindustrialproperty.
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4. Cont…
•Manyoftherightsofownershipcommontorealandpersonalpropertyarealso
commontointellectualproperty.
•Intellectualpropertycanbebought,sold,andlicensed.
•Similarly,itcanbeprotectedagainsttheftorinfringementbyothers.
•Nevertheless,therearesomerestrictionsonuse.
•Forexample,ifyouweretopurchasethelatestbestsellerbyJohnGrisham,you
wouldbeentitledtoreadthebook,sellittoanother,orgiveitaway.
•Youwouldnot,however,beentitledtomakephotocopiesofthebookandthen
distributeandsellthosecopiestoothers.
•Thoserightsareretainedbytheauthoroftheworkandareprotectedby
copyrightlaw.
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5. The Rationale for Protection of Intellectual Property
•Intellectualpropertyisafieldoflawthataimsatprotectingtheknowledgecreated
throughhumaneffortinordertostimulateandpromotefurthercreativity.
•Authorswhowritebooksandmusicianswhocomposesongswouldbeunlikelyto
engageinfurthercreativeeffortunlesstheycouldrealizeprofitfromtheir
endeavors.
•Iftheirworkcouldbemisappropriatedandsoldbyothers,theywouldhaveno
incentivetocreatefurtherworks.
•Pharmaceuticalcompanieswouldnotinvestmillionsofdollarsintoresearchand
developmentofnewdrugsunlesstheycouldbeassuredthattheirinventions
wouldenablethemtorecoverthesecostsanddevelopadditionaldrugs.
•Thus,notonlythecreatorsofintellectualpropertybutthepublicaswellbenefit
fromprotectingintellectualproperty.
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6. Cont…
•Ontheotherhand,iftheownerofintellectualpropertyisgivencompleteand
perpetualrightstohisorherinventionorwork,theownerwouldhaveamonopoly
andbeabletochargeexcessivepricefortheinventionorwork,whichwouldharm
thepublic.
•Intellectualpropertylawattemptstoresolvetheseconflictinggoalssothatowners’
rightstoreaptherewardsoftheireffortsarebalancedagainstthepublicneedfora
competitivemarketplace.
•Thus,forexample,underfederallaw,apatentforausefulinventionwilllastfor
only20yearsfromthedateanapplicationforthepatentisfiledwiththeUSPTO.
•Afterthatperiodoftime,thepatentexpires,andanyoneisfreetoproduceandsell
theproduct.
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7. Types of Intellectual Property
•Thetermintellectualpropertyisusuallythoughtofascomprisingfourseparate,
butoftenoverlapping,legalfields:
1.Trademarks
2.Copyrights
3.Patents
4.Tradesecrets
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8. 1. Trademarks and Service Marks
•Atrademarkorservicemarkisaword,name,symbol,ordeviceusedtoindicate
thesource,quality,andownershipofaproductorservice.
•Atrademarkisusedinthemarketingofaproduct(suchasREEBOK®forshoes),
whileaservicemarktypicallyidentifiesaservice(suchasSTARBUCKS®forretail
outletservices).
•Atrademarkorservicemarkidentifiesanddistinguishestheproductsorservices
ofonepersonfromthoseofanother.
•Inadditiontowords,trademarkscanalsoconsistofslogans(suchasTHEKING
OFBEERS®forBudweiserbeer),designs(suchasthefamiliar“swoosh”that
identifiesNikeproducts),orsounds(suchasthedistinctivegiggleofthePillsbury
Doughboy).
•Trademarksprovideguaranteesofqualityandconsistencyoftheproductor
servicetheyidentify.
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9. Federal Registration of Trademarks
•Interstateuseoftrademarksisgovernedbyfederallaw,namely,theU.S.TrademarkAct
(alsocalledtheLanhamAct).
•Additionally,trademarksareprovidedforinall50statessothatmarksthatcannotbe
federallyregisteredwiththeUSPTObecausetheyarenotusedininterstatecommercecan
beregisteredinthestateinwhichtheyareused.
•IntheUnitedStates,trademarksaregenerallyprotectedfromtheirdateoffirstpublicuse.
•Registrationofamarkisnotrequiredtosecureprotectionforamark,althoughitoffers
numerousadvantages,suchasallowingtheregistranttobringanactioninfederalcourtfor
infringementofthemark.
•ApplicationsforfederalregistrationoftrademarksaremadewiththeUSPTO.
•Registrationisafairlylengthyprocess,generallytakinganywherefrom10to24monthsor
evenlonger.
•Thefilingfeeis$325permarkperclassofgoodsorservicescoveredbythemarkifthe
applicationisfiledelectronically.
Introduction of IPR: Dr. B.Rajalingam12 May 2020 9

10. Cont…
•Atrademarkregistrationisvalidfor10yearsandmayberenewedforadditional10-year
periodsthereafteraslongasthemarkisinuseininterstatecommerce.
•Additionally,registrantsarerequiredtofileanaffidavitwiththeUSPTObetweenthefifth
andsixthyearsafterregistrationandevery10yearstoverifythemarkisincontinueduse.
•Marksnotinusearethenavailabletoothers.
•Trademarksareamongthemostvisibleitemsofintellectualproperty,andithasbeen
estimatedthattheaverageresidentoftheUnitedStatesencountersapproximately1,500
differenttrademarkseachdayand30,000ifonevisitsasupermarket.
•Aproperlyselected,registered,andprotectedmarkcanbeofgreatvaluetoacompanyor
individualdesiringtoestablishandexpandmarketshare.
•Thereisperhapsnobetterwaytomaintainastrongpositioninthemarketplacethanto
buildgoodwillandconsumerrecognitionintheidentityselectedforproductsandservices
andthentoprotectthatidentityunderfederaltrademarklaw.
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11. 2. Copyrights
Copyrightisaformofprotectiongovernedexclusivelybyfederallawgrantedtothe
authorsoforiginalworksofauthorship,includingliterary,dramatic,musical,artistic,and
certainotherworks.
Thus,books,songs,plays,jewelry,movies,sculptures,paintings,andchoreographicworks
areallprotectable.
Computersoftwareisalsoprotectablebycopyright.
Copyrightprotectionisavailableformorethanmerelyseriousworksoffictionorart.
Marketingmaterials,advertisingcopy,andcartoonsarealsoprotectable.
Copyrightisavailablefororiginalworks;nojudgmentismadeabouttheirliteraryor
artisticquality.
Nevertheless,certainworksarenotprotectablebycopyright,suchastitles,names,short
phrases,orlistsofingredients.
Similarly,ideas,methods,andprocessesarenotprotectablebycopyright,althoughthe
expressionofthoseideasis.
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12. Federal Registration of Copyrights
•Neitherpublicationnorregistrationofaworkisrequiredforcopyrightprotection,
inasmuchasworksareprotectedunderfederalcopyrightlawfromthetimeoftheircreation
inafixedform.
•Registration,however,isinexpensive,requiringonlya$35filingfee(forapplicationsfiled
electronically),andtheprocessisexpeditious.
•Inmostcases,theCopyrightOfficeprocesseselectronicallyfiledapplicationsinaboutthree
months.
•Generally,copyrightedworksareautomaticallyprotectedfromthemomentoftheir
creationforatermgenerallyenduringfortheauthor’slifeplusanadditional70yearsafter
theauthor’sdeath.
•Afterthattime,theworkwillfallintothepublicdomainandmaybereproduced,
distributed,orperformedbyanyone.
•Thepolicyunderlyingthelongperiodofcopyrightprotectionisthatitmaytakeseveral
yearsforapainting,book,oroperatoachieveitstruevalue,and,thus,authorsshould
receivealengthofprotectionthatwillenabletheworktoappreciatetoitsgreatestextent.
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13. 3. Patents
•ApatentisagrantfromtheU.S.governmentthatpermitsitsownertoprevent
othersfrommaking,using,importing,orsellinganinvention.
•Therearethreetypesofpatents:
•Utilitypatents,whicharethemostcommonpatentsandwhichcoveruseful
inventionsanddiscoveries(suchasthetypewriter,theautomobile,andgenetically
alteredmice).
•Designpatents,whichcovernew,original,andornamentaldesignsforarticles
(suchasfurniture).
•Plantpatents,whichcovernewanddistinctasexuallyreproducedplantvarieties
(suchashybridflowersortrees).
•Patentprotectionisavailableonlyforuseful,novel,andnonobviousinventions.
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14. Federal Registration of Patents
•Patentsaregovernedexclusivelybyfederallaw.
•Toobtainapatent,aninventormustfileanapplicationwiththeUSPTOthatfullydescribes
theinvention.Patentprosecutionisexpensive,time-consuming,andcomplex.
•Costscanrunintothethousandsofdollars,anditgenerallytakesaboutthreeyearsforthe
USPTOtoissueapatent.
•Patentprotectionexistsfor20yearsfromthedateoffilingofanapplicationforutility
patentsandplantpatentsand14yearsfromthedateofgrantfordesignpatents.
•Afterthisperiodoftime,theinventionfallsintothepublicdomainandmaybeusedbyany
personwithoutpermission.
•Patentspromotethepublicgoodinthatpatentprotectionincentivizesinventors.
•Afterthepatentexpires,anymemberofthepublicisfreetouse,manufacture,orsellthe
invention.
•Thus,patentlawstrikesabalancebetweentheneedtoprotectinventorsandtheneedto
allowpublicaccesstoimportantdiscoveries.
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15. 4. Trade Secrets
•Atradesecretconsistsofanyvaluablebusinessinformationthat,ifknownbyacompetitor,
wouldaffordthecompetitorsomebenefitoradvantage.
•Thereisnolimittothetypeofinformationthatcanbeprotectedastradesecrets;recipes,
marketingplans,financialprojections,andmethodsofconductingbusinesscanall
constitutetradesecrets.
•Thereisnorequirementthatatradesecretbeuniqueorcomplex;thus,evensomethingas
simpleandnontechnicalasalistofcustomerscanqualifyasatradesecretaslongasit
affordsitsowneracompetitiveadvantageandisnotcommonknowledge.
•Iftradesecretswerenotprotectable,companieswouldhavenoincentivetoinvesttime,
money,andeffortinresearchanddevelopmentthatultimatelybenefitsthepublic.
•Tradesecretlawthuspromotesthedevelopmentofnewmethodsandprocessesofdoing
businessinthemarketplace.
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16. Protection of Trade Secrets
•Althoughtrademarks,copyrights,andpatentsareallsubjecttoextensivestatutoryschemes
fortheirprotection,application,andregistration,thereisnoequivalentfederallawsystem
fortradesecrets,andnoformalitiesarerequiredtoobtainrightstotradesecrets.
•Tradesecretsaregenerallyprotectableundervariousstatestatutesandcasesandby
contractualagreementsbetweenparties.
•Forexample,employersoftenrequireemployeestosignconfidentialityagreementsinwhich
employeesagreenottodiscloseproprietaryinformationownedbytheemployer.
•Ifproperlyprotected,tradesecretsmaylastforever.
•Ontheotherhand,ifcompaniesfailtotakereasonablemeasurestomaintainthesecrecyof
theinformation,tradesecretprotectionmaybelost.
•Thus,disclosureoftheinformationshouldbelimitedtothosewitha“needtoknow”itsoas
toperformtheirduties;confidentialinformationshouldbekeptinsecureorrestrictedareas;
andemployeeswithaccesstoproprietaryinformationshouldsignnondisclosure
agreements.
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17. Thank You
Introduction of IPR: Dr. B.Rajalingam12 May 2020 17