Protection Of Intellectual Property

The Basics of Protection Of Intellectual Property

For a lot of companies, and even individuals, protection of intellectual property is important. Employee know-how, patents, or trade secrets are valuable. Intellectual property or IP is protected by law. If act or any case of infringement is found, the one liable can be persecuted. Legally speaking, there are four types of IP.

Categories For Protection Of Intellectual Property

When an applicant registers his or her invention, the person gains the right to prohibit anyone from producing and marketing the invention. This is called patent. And it takes more than a year to process. It can last up to 20 years and others can have an application to license the product once you have a patent. One more good thing is that it can be registered in other countries.

The name, symbol, sound, or phrase associated to a good or service is called trademark. It falls under the second category for protection of intellectual property. It gives the company a good reputation and the brand is often connected or means high level of quality. Protection of trademarks can last up to 10 years upon registration. It can be renewed although it doesn’t have to be registered. Some companies just use the TM symbol to scare and have room to indict other companies who plans to use the original mark.

Protection of intellectual property which are written or artistically expressed in tangible media such as songs, poems, movies, and novels are called copyright. A copyright does not protect the idea but the expression is. The owner has the right to make copies, create derivatives like turning a novel into a movie, sell, display, and perform the piece to the public. It usually last for 50 years.

Last but not the least for protection of intellectual property category is the trade secrets. These are formulas, compilation, device, or patterns of data. The owner of has the edge over competitors. It may last to up to hundreds of years if it is proven to add worth to a company.