Introduction to Intellectual Property
What is intellectual property (IP) ?This is the general term for intangible property rights which are a result of intellectual effort.
What are intellectual property rights ?
Intellectual property rights are rights governed by statute, which provide individuals with a right to prevent others from exploiting or abusing their intellectual creations. The more common forms of intellectual property rights (IPR) are patents, trade marks, copyright, design rights, confidential information and know-how, and all of these play an important role in the innovation process.
What is a patent ?
A patent grants, for a limited period, the right to exclude others from making, using, selling or importing the subject matter described by the claims of the patent except with the consent of the patentee. A patent contains a narrative description of the subject matter covered by the patent called the specification. It also contains one or more claims that describe the subject matter covered by the patent in highly technical and specific terms. A patent, as a form of 'industrial property', can be bought and sold, licensed or used by the owner either in whole or in part.
There are three basic criteria required to patent an invention. The invention must be novel, have an inventive step (i.e. it should not be obvious to someone skilled in the state-of-the-art) and it should have an industrial application. All three criteria must be met.
What is a trade mark ?
A trade mark is the means by which a business identifies its goods or services and distinguishes them from the goods and services supplied by other businesses. The Trade Marks Act, 1996 defines a trade mark as "any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings."A trade mark may consist of words, (including personal names), designs, logos, letters, numerals or the shape of goods or of their packaging, or of other signs or indications that are capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of others.
What is a design ?
A design means the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colour, shape, texture or materials of the product itself or its ornamentation. A registered design is a form of 'industrial property', which can be assigned, transferred, licensed or used by the owner. Design protection is territorial, in effect a design registered in Ireland is only valid in Ireland. Some aspects of the "design" may also be protected by copyright.
- original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works;
- sound recordings, films;
- broadcasts, cable programmes;
- the typographical arrangement of published editions;
- computer programmes;
- original databases.
The owner of copyright is the author, meaning the person who creates the work. However, as copyright is a form of property, the right may be transferred to someone else, for example, to a publisher. Copyright is a property right and the owner of the work can control the use of the work, subject to certain exceptions. The owner has the exclusive right to prohibit or authorise others to undertake the following:
- copy the work;
- perform the work;
- make the work available to the public through broadcasting or recordings;
- make an adaptation of the work.
Copyright takes effect as soon as the work is put on paper, film, or other fixed medium such as CD-ROM, DVD, Internet, etc. No protection is provided for ideas while the ideas are in a persons mind; copyright law protects the form of expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.
Source and for further information visit the Irish Patents Office.