Intellectual Property Rights

Question 1

What is Intellectual Property?

What are the Types of Intellectual Properties?

Answer 1

• Ownership of Innovation, similar to property, cars
• Types:
  
  • Patents
  • Designs
  • Copyrights
  • Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR)
  • Trademarks
  • Know-how

Question 2

What is a Patent?

Answer 2

• A patent is a legally enforceable right for a device, substance, method or process
• For the application to be successful, the invention must be new, useful and inventive or innovative

Question 3

What is conferred by the Patent?

Answer 3

• The right to exclude others from using the innovation for commercial gains
• Authority to license
• Incentive for innovation
• Doesn’t stop others from using the information for research
• Patent owner is responsible for enforcing the IP and preventing infringement

Question 4

What are the 2 Types of Patents in Australia?

Answer 4

• Standard Patent
  
  • Foor long term protection and control
• Innovation patent
  
  • Protect an incremental advance on existing technology, not necessary to be examined and granted within a month

Question 5

What are 3 Requirements for Grant of a Patent?

Answer 5

• New, no prior art
• Non-obvious
• Useful

Question 6

What Inventions are Excluded from Patent Protection?

Answer 6

• Humans
• Biological processes
• Mathematical models, plans or schemes
• Natural processes
• Military related aspects

Question 7

What is the Duration of Patents?

Answer 7

• Generally 20 years, can be extended to 25 years in case of pharmaceuticals with long lead time
• Up to 8 years for innovation patents

Question 8

Do patents have to be filed?

How is the Applicated Filed?

What happens if 2 or more inventors make the same invention?

Answer 8

• Decision to file a patent or maintain the information as a trade secret
• Filing application
  
  • First application in home country
  • Other countries - within 12 months
  • If not used or published, can be filed even after 12 months in other countries
• Fee Payment
• When two or more inventors make the same invention: first to file

Question 9

What are the Contents of a Patent?

Answer 9

• Patent number, date of issue
• Abstract
• Inventors
• Assignee
• References
• Summary (Background)
• Summary of Invention
• Detailed Description
• Examples
• Claims

Question 10

What is the role of Patents in the Pharmaceutical Industry?

Answer 10

• Patents are commonly used, however, it isn’t necessary
• Manufacturing process of active ingredients, new activities and new formulations are usually patented
• Generic manufacturers rely on expiry of patents owned by brand manufacturers
• Marketing and use are controlled by TGA, independent of patent status

Question 11

List 4 ways Infringement of Patents?

Answer 11

• Claims reviewed as per legislation
• Damages including legal costs
• Cost of lost opportunity
• Loss of royalties or licensing fee

Question 12

What does a design refer to?

A registered design?

Answer 12

• A design refers to the features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation which give a product a unique appearance, and must be new and distinctive
• A registered design that has been certified after it has been examined provides you with enforceable rights to use, licence, sell or protect your design

Question 13

What are Copyrights?

Answer 13

• Original expression of ideas and not the idea themselves (e.g. book, songs)
• Automatic and free
• Not required to be registered
• No requirement to disclose the artist
• Can be difficult to establish in the court of law

Question 14

In terms of Copyrights,

What is the Duration and Scope of Rights?

Answer 14

• Duration:
  
  • A copyright lasts for 70 years following the author’s death for anything on or after 1978
• Scope of Rights:
  
  • Only restricts the use of the work itself, not the idea or modifications

Question 15

What are Plant Breeder’s Rights?

Answer 15

• PBR are used to protect new varieties of plants that are distinct, uniform and stable
• A PBR is legally enforceable and gives you, the owner, exclusive rights to commercially use it, sell it, direct the production, sale and distribution of it and receive royalties from the sale of plants

Question 16

What is a Trademark?

Is it necessary to register?

How long is it valid for?

Can it be challenged?

What can’t be trademarked?

Answer 16

• A trade mark can be a letter, number, word, phrase, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or any combination of these
• Necesary to register
• Valid for 10 years, can be renewed
• Can be challenged if not used
• Common signs or words can not be registered as trademarks e.g. warm for heaters

Question 17

What is Know-How/Trade Secrets?

Answer 17

• Practical knowledge, maintained as secret
• Confidential
• Not registered in any form, most of the time it’s not documented
• High risk, no legal protection

Question 18

What organisations manage patents?

Answer 18

• World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
  
  • Administers conventions
  • Sponsors and hosts conferences for the development of new intellectual property rights and agreements
  • Promotes the modernisation of national intellectual property laws

Question 19

What is a Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement?

Answer 19

• A contract in which the parties promise to protect the confidentiality of secret information that is disclosed during employment or another type of business transaction
• Can be used to protect any type of trade secret
  
  • Legally bound to keep secret