INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Flashcards
(44 cards)
a form of legal protection for owners who manage the use and
commercialization of their work.
is intended to help
creators of new ideas to protect and develop their innovations so that they can successfully bring
those ideas to the market.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
only protects you
in the country where it was granted. It does not automatically grant protection outside of that
country.
IP PROTECTION
When you choose to protect your work, you have many options. These include
sophisticated patent portfolios, disciplined use of trademarks and copyrights, and/or keeping your
most valuable business elements secret through diligent effort.
But before you start thinking about your intellectual property strategies, you must clearly
articulate who owns the technology. Possible owners of the technology include the inventor or coinventors; funding sources (university, lab, investors); and your own company.
OWNERSHIP
Documenting your work is one efficient way to clarify ownership. Knowing when your
technology was invented and precisely who invented it is critical for getting IP protection later.
DOCUMENTATION
may also take the form of electronic tools and documents. Carefully consider
how those electronic documents are maintained and how you can tell who authored or changed
them.
NOTEBOOKS
As your technology progresses, you might find applications in a new geographical region
or market segment, potential partners or joint ventures, or improvements to the technology
OWNERSHIP QUESTIONS
one of the oldest forms of IP, have existed for hundreds of years.
s help the public identify the source of goods and services
protects the owning company’s reputation and prevents it from being associated with inferior
goods
can help ensure the public is buying products they trust and not pirated or
counterfeit goods.
TRADEMARKS
can be designs, letters, slogan, or symbols.
TRADEMARKS
look to see
if your trademark is both distinctive and not deceptive.
TRADEMARKS EXAMINERS
describe the product in a way the public can clearly identify
must allow the consumer and other competitors to identify the owner without
confusion.
DISTINCTIVE TRADEMARK
imply qualities the product does not actually have
DECEPTIVE TRADEMARK
there are four types of trademarks:
Arbitrary or fanciful marks
Suggestive marks
Descriptive marks
Generic marks
Strong trademarks are often fanciful-that is, they do not directly correlate to the product
an audience that is not aware of your brand
may miss the connection. Rigorous marketing is needed to establish the trademark for the
consumer.
ARBITRARY OR FANCIFUL MARKS
an audience that is not aware of your brand
may miss the connection. Rigorous marketing is needed to establish the trademark for the
consumer.
SUGGESTIVE MARKS
described what they market. To be identified as distinctive,
descriptive marks must achieve a secondary meaning for the customer.
can be harder to register, since the company will have to prove they
have created this secondary meaning. Creating a secondary meaning is not easy or obvious.
Companies may need extensive marketing to achieve secondary meaning.
DESCRIPTIVE TRADEMARKS
though formerly owned by an individual company,
has passed into general use. The mark has become a colloquial description or synonym for a whole
class of products or services.
GENERIC MARK
the easiest form of IP protection to acquire.
COPYRIGHT
The right to copy is a limited monopoly that allows the owner of a work to control how the
work can be distributed, printed, performed, etc.
COPYRIGHT
The concept of a copyright originated with the
STATUE OF ANNE IN BRITAIN
are granted the moment the work is created and do not require formal
protection.
COPYRIGHT
you must register your copyright. If you suspect you would
want to stop someone from infringing on your copyrights, consult legal advisors.
SUE COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
may provide a strong
disincentive to infringe on your work, since it indicates your commitment to protecting your work.
REGISTERING A COPYRIGHT
A copy right typically includes these rights
to produce copies or reproductions of the work
and to sell those copies (including mechanical rights and, sometimes, for electronic copies or for
distribution)
s essentially a contract. An inventor shares information about an invention and in
return, the government gives the inventor the right to exclude anyone else from copying that
invention
PATENT
