Introduction to Intellectual Property Law Chapter 1 © 2013 Delmar Cengage Learning

Introduction to Intellectual Property Law

Chapter 1

© 2013 Delmar Cengage Learning

Types of Property

•Real (land or real estate)

•Personal (items, identifiable things)

•Intellectual (fruits or product of human creativity)


Chapter 1: Introduction to Intellectual Property Law

Aim of Intellectual Property Law

• Protect knowledge created by human effort





• Stimulate and promote further creativity





• Stimulate and promote further creativity

• Balance:owners’ rights to remunerationpublic need for competitive market



Intellectual property (IP) protected by four separate fields of law:

•Trademarks•Copyrights•Patents•Trade secrets



Trademarks



Trademarks

•A word, name, symbol, or device•indicating source, quality, and ownership of a

product•distinguishing it from others’ products



Trademarks

•A word, name, symbol, or device•indicating source, quality, and ownership of a

product•distinguishing it from others’ products

Service Marks•The same, but applied to a service



• Trademarks can consist also of

Slogans Budweiser’s “King of Beers”

Designs Nike’s “swoosh”Sounds Pillsbury’s “giggle”



• Trademarks can consist also of

Slogans Budweiser’s “King of Beers”

Designs Nike’s “swoosh”Sounds Pillsbury’s “giggle”

•Guarantee quality and consistency

All “Big Macs” taste the same



•Not protected if Generic Merely descriptive



•Not protected if Generic Merely descriptive

• Protected ifCoined KODAKArbitrary SHELLSuggestive STAPLES





Trademarks Governed by Federal Law

U.S. Trademark Act (Lanham Act)



Trademarks Governed by Federal Law

U.S. Trademark Act (Lanham Act)

•Registration not required U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

•Protected from date of first public use

•Valid for 10 years and renewable

Copyrights



Copyrights

Protects authors of

•Literary works

•Dramatic works

•Musical works

•Artistic works

•Other works



Copyrights

Protects authors of

•Literary works

•Dramatic works

•Musical works

•Artistic works

•Other works



•Marketing materials

•Advertising copy

•Cartoons

Kirsten

ED: pls align columns



Not protected:

Titles

Names

Short phrases

Lists of ingredients



Not protected:

Titles

Names

Short phrases

Lists of ingredients

Ideas

Methods

Processes



Copyrights Handled byU.S. Copyright Office



Copyrights Handled byU.S. Copyright Office

•Registration not required by USPTO

•Protected when work is in fixed form

•Valid for author’s life plus 70 years after death



Patents



Patents

A grant from federal government (USPTO)permitting the owner of an invention to

prevent others from making, using, importing, or selling it



Types of Patents

•Utility (automobile)

•Design (furniture)

•Plant (hybrid flowers)



Patents Handled by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

•Registration required by USPTO



Patents Handled by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

•Registration required by USPTO

•Protects useful, novel, nonobvious

•Insignificant addition or alteration

•Valid for 20 years for utility and plant; 14 years for design



Trade Secrets



Trade Secrets

Any valuable business information that, if known by a competitor, would afford

the competitor some benefit or advantage



Trade Secrets

Any valuable business information that, if known by a competitor, would afford

the competitor some benefit or advantage

•No limit to types of informationrecipes, financial projections



•Registration not possible

•No federal law protection

•Protected by state statutes and courts nondisclosure agreements not-to-compete agreements



•Registration not possible

•No federal law protection

•Protected by state statutes and courts nondisclosure agreements not-to-compete agreements

•Criterion: secret gives owner a competitive advantage

•Valid forever



Note:

Intellectual property rights often intersect and overlap

IP owners must consider relationships among trademark, copyright, patent, and trade secrets to obtain broadest possible protection for their assets



Agencies for IP Registration

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)U.S. president appoints “Director” of USPTOSecretary of Department of Commerce appoints

Commissioner for PatentsCommissioner for Trademarks



Agencies for IP Registration

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)U.S. president appoints “Director” of USPTOSecretary of Department of Commerce appoints

Commissioner for PatentsCommissioner for Trademarks

Library of Congress U.S. Copyright Office part of Library of Congress

since 1870



International Agencies

• International Trademark Association

• World Intellectual Property

Organization

• World Trade Organization



International Agreements

• The Berne Convention

• Madrid Protocol

• Paris Convention

• North American Free Trade

Agreement

• TRIPS



Increasing Importanceof Intellectual Property Rights




•Rapidly developing pace of technology allows for new, valuable ideas





•U.S. economy dependent on industries resulting from these ideas





•U.S. economy dependent on industries resulting from these ideas

•Protection needed against piracy, counterfeiting, other infringements

Documents

Introduction to Intellectual Property Law Chapter 1 © 2013 Delmar Cengage Learning