Intellectual Property Rights (Concept, Copyright, Censorship,Print and Non Print Media)
Intellectual Property.
Intellectual property (IP) refers to
creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works;
designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.
IP is protected in law by, for example,
patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or
financial benefit from what they invent or create. By striking the right balance
between the interests of innovators and
the wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which
creativity and innovation can flourish.
Patent
A patent is an exclusive right granted for
an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new
way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. To get
a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the
public.
What kind of protection does a patent
offer?
In principle, the patent owner has the
exclusive right to prevent or stop others from commercially exploiting the
patented invention. In other words, patent protection means that the invention
cannot be commercially made, used, distributed, imported or sold by others
without the patent owner's consent.
Is a patent valid in every country?
Patents are territorial rights. In general,
the exclusive rights are only applicable in the country or region in which a
patent has been filed and granted, in accordance with the law of that country
or region.
Copyright
Copyright is a legal term used to describe
the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works. Works
covered by copyright range from books, music, paintings, sculpture and films,
to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps and technical drawings.
What is covered by copyright?
Works covered by copyright include, but are
not limited to:
Literary works such as novels, poems,
plays, reference works, newspapers and computer programs; databases;
Films, musical compositions, and
choreography;
Artistic works such as paintings, drawings,
photographs and sculpture;
Architecture; and
Advertisements, maps and technical
drawings.
Copyright protection extends only to expressions
and not to ideas, procedures, and methods of operation or mathematical concepts
as such. Copyright may or may not be available for titles, slogans, or logos,
depending on whether they contain sufficient authorship.
In most circumstances copyright does not
protect names.
What rights does copyright give me?
There are two types of rights under
copyright: economic rights allow the rights owner to derive financial reward
from the use of his works by others; and moral rights are the rights to claim
authorship of a work, and the right to oppose changes to the work that could
harm the creator's reputation.
Most copyright laws state that the author
or rights owner has the right to authorize or prevent certain acts in relation
to a work. The rights owner of a work can prohibit or authorize:
its reproduction in various forms, such as
printed publication or sound recording;
its public performance, such as in a play
or musical work;
its recording (“fixation”), for example, in
the form of compact discs or DVDs;
its broadcasting, by radio, cable or
satellite;
its translation into other languages; and
its adaptation, such as a novel into a film
screenplay.
Trademark
A trademark is a sign capable of
distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other
enterprises. Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights.
How can I protect my trademark?
At the national/regional level, trademark
protection can be obtained through registration, by filing an application for
registration with the national/regional trademark office and paying the
required fees. At the international level, you have two options: either you can
file a trademark application with the trademark office of each country in which
you are seeking protection, or you can use WIPO’s Madrid System.
What rights does trademark registration
provide?
In principle, a trademark registration will
confer an exclusive right to the use of the registered trademark. This implies
that the trademark can be exclusively used by its owner, or licensed to another
party for use in return for payment. Registration provides legal certainty and
reinforces the position of the right holder, for example, in case of
litigation.
How long does trademark protection last?
The term of trademark registration can
vary, but is usually ten years. It can be renewed indefinitely on payment of
additional fees. Trademark rights are private rights and protection is enforced
through court orders.
What kinds of trademark can be
registered?
A word or a combination of words, letters,
and numerals can perfectly constitute a trademark. But trademarks may also
consist of drawings, symbols, three-dimensional features such as the shape and
packaging of goods, non-visible signs such as sounds or fragrances, or colour
shades used as distinguishing features – the possibilities are almost
limitless.
Industrial design
An industrial design constitutes the
ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article. A design may consist of
three-dimensional features, such as the shape or surface of an article, or of
two-dimensional features, such as patterns, lines or colour.
What kind of products can be protected
as industrial designs?
Industrial designs are applied to a wide
variety of products of industry and handicraft: from technical and medical
instruments to watches, jewellery, and other luxury items; from house wares and
electrical appliances to vehicles and architectural structures; and from
textile to leisure goods.
Why protect industrial designs?
Industrial designs are what make a product
attractive and appealing; hence, they add to the commercial value of a product
and increase its marketability.
When an industrial design is protected,
this helps to ensure a fair return on investment. An effective system of
protection also benefits consumers and the public at large, by promoting fair
competition and honest trade practices.
Protecting industrial designs also helps
economic development, by encouraging creativity in the industrial and
manufacturing sectors and contributes to the expansion of commercial activities
and the export of national products.
How can industrial designs be protected?
In most countries, an industrial design
must be registered in order to be protected under industrial design law.
Depending on the particular national law and the kind of design, an industrial
design may also be protected as an unregistered design or as a work of art
under copyright law. In some countries, industrial design and copyright
protection can exist concurrently. In other countries, they are mutually
exclusive: meaning that once the owner chooses one kind of protection, he can
no longer invoke the other.
Under certain circumstances an industrial
design may also be eligible for protection under unfair competition law,
although the conditions of protection and the rights and remedies ensured can
be significantly different.
Geographical indication
A geographical indication is a sign used on
goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities, a
reputation or characteristics that are essentially attributable to that place
of origin.
Most commonly, a geographical indication
includes the name of the place of origin of the goods. For example,
agricultural products typically have qualities that derive from their place of
production and are influenced by specific local factors, such as climate and
soil.
Why protect a geographical indication?
Geographical indications are more than just
a name or a symbol. They reflect a reputation strongly linked to geographical
areas of varying sizes, thus giving them an emotional component. A geographical
indication’s reputation is a collective, intangible asset. If not protected, it
could be used without restriction and its value diminished and eventually lost.
What rights does a geographical
indication provide?
A geographical indication right enables
those who have the right to use the indication to prevent its use by a third
party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards. For example,
in the jurisdictions in which the Darjeeling
geographical indication is protected, producers of Darjeeling
tea can exclude use of the term “Darjeeling”
for tea not grown in their tea gardens or not produced according to the
standards set out in the code of practice for the geographical indication.
However, a protected geographical
indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product
using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that
indication. Protection for a geographical indication is usually obtained by
acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication.
What is the difference between a
geographical indication and an appellation of origin?
Appellations of origin and GIs both require
a qualitative link between the product to which they refer and its place of
origin. Both inform consumers about a product’s geographical origin and a
quality or characteristic of the product linked to its place of origin. The
basic difference between the two terms is that the link with the place of
origin must be stronger in the case of an appellation of origin.
The quality or characteristics of a product
protected as an appellation of origin must result exclusively or essentially
from its geographical origin. This generally means that the raw materials
should be sourced in the place of origin and that the processing of the product
should also happen there. In the case of GIs, a single criterion attributable
to geographical origin is sufficient, be it a quality or other characteristic
of the product, or only its reputation. Moreover, the production of the raw materials
and the development or processing of a GI product does not necessarily take
place entirely in the defined geographical area.
How can I obtain protection for a
geographical indication?
There are three main ways to protect a
geographical indication:
So-called sui generis systems (i.e. special
regimes of protection);
Using collective or certification marks;
and
methods focusing on business practices,
including administrative product approval schemes.
These approaches involve differences with
respect to important questions, such as the conditions for protection or the
scope of protection. On the other hand, two of the modes of protection — namely
sui generis systems and collective or certification mark systems — share some
common features, such as the fact that they set up rights for collective use by
those who comply with defined standards.
Broadly speaking geographical indications
are protected in different countries and regional systems through a wide
variety of approaches and often using a combination of two or more of the
approaches outlined above.
These approaches have been developed in
accordance with different legal traditions and within a framework of individual
historical and economic conditions.
Source: LISQUIZ.COM
