Intellectual property Flashcards
(27 cards)
What is intellectual property?
Any unique product of human intellect that has commercial value
What do intellectual property rights protect?
- Creative works
- Inventions
- Intangible assets of a business
What do IP rights include?
- Copyright
- Patents
- Law of confidence
- Design rights
- Trademarks
What is copyright law?
Protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. It provides the owner exclusive rights to use the work
What does copyright extend to?
- Literary work
- Artistic work
- musical work
What is patent law?
Gives the owner exclusive rights to an invention for up to 20 yrs - no one else can develop something based on your idea without permission
What are the issues with patents?
- Application must be made
- Long and expensive process
- Must be new
- Must be capable of industrial application
- Must expire eventually
What is the law of confidence?
- Protects ideas before they become copyrighted/patented
- Protects confidential information
What is a trademark for?
Protects signs capable of being graphically represented
How is IPR handled for AI?
AI inventions do not have IPRs. IPRs are only given to human inventions, otherwise this may reduce incentive to innovate
What is piracy?
Unfairly trading/downloading a person’s creation
How is piracy combatted?
- Digital rights management (DRM)
- Digital economy act 2017
How does DRM combat piracy?
- Access control - limits how users can use a program
- Licensing - users must have licenses to access certain content
- Encryption - Content is unreadable without key
- Monitoring and reporting suspicious activity
Why protect software?
Copying software reduces purchases, therefore lower profits/production, leading to less benefits to society
What is open source software?
Software is free to use, adapt and redistribute for any purpose
What can be the benefit of creating open source software?
- Programmers get credit
- Develop reputation and makes grants easier to acquire
What is Shareware?
Software released for completely free, believing users will choose to support the developers if they want to - like a donation
What law protects software copyright?
The Copyrights, Design and Patent Act 1988
Other than software, what does the CDPA protect?
- Preparatory design material (flow charts etc)
- Databases
Who does the CDPA provide ownership of a work to?
- Author of the work
- Employer, if an employee created the work
How does the CDPA give ownership to computer generated works?
Whomever made the arrangements necessary for the creation of the works have ownership of copyright
What law imposes product liability?
Customer Protection Act 1987 (CPA)
what does the Customer Protection Act 1987 (CPA) apply to?
- Computer hardware as it is a product
- Not computer software as it is a service
What law imposes contractual liability?
Supply of Goods and Services Act (SGSA) 1982
