The approbation of Intellectual property for control and use, is covered in four areas.
Copyright-Copyright protects material, such as literatute, art, sound recordings, music, films and broadcasting.
Design-Designs protect the visual appearance or eye appeal of products.
Patents-protect the technical and functional aspects of products and processes.
Trade Marks-Trade Marks protect signs that can distinguish goods and services of one trader from those of another. However IP also covers ’KNOW-HOW’, performer rirghts and so on.
Copyright law originated in the United Kingdom from a concept of common law; the Statute of Anne 1709. It became statutory with the passing of the Copyright Act 1911. The current act is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
There is a clear distinction between the genesis of an idea and an actual creation. An idea for a book would not be protected but the actual content of a book would be. You are allowed to write a book around an idea.
The 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act states the duration of Copyright varies according to the type of work.
e.g Broadcasts – 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast was made.
Benefits of design protection
Registering your design gives you exclusive rights for the look and appearance of your product. The existence of your design registration may be enough on its own to stop others from trying to exploit your design. If it does not, it gives you the right to take legal action to stop them exploiting your design and to claim damages.
A registered design allows you to:
- sell your design and the intellectual property (IP) rights to it
- license your design to someone else and retain the IP rights to it.
The public will also benefit from your design as it will be published. Others can gain useful information and see the latest developments in design technology which can be used freely once the design registration ceases.
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/design/d-applying/d-should/d-benefit.htm
Patents:
An application for a patent should include a full description of your invention (including any drawings), a set of claims defining your invention, a short abstract summarising the technical features of your invention and a filled in form 1.
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/patent/p-applying/p-apply.htm
What is a trade mark?
A trade mark is a sign which can distinguish your goods
and services from those of other traders. A sign includes,
for example, words, logos, pictures or a combination of
these.
You can use your trade mark as a marketing tool so that
customers can recognise your products or services.
Points to consider before making your application:
The following are the main points you need to think about
carefully before sending us your application.
•
or other sign that will clearly identify your goods or
services from those of other traders?
If we don’t think it is, we will object to your mark.
•
register a trade mark which may be confusingly similar
to yours? For example, does it:
•
(or similar) goods or services; or
•
sound the same as (or similar to) yours .
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/t-essentialreading.pdf
