Different Types Of Intellectual Property

On February 16, 2010, In business, By Mary Diaz

Property does not just comprise of tangible things like houses, cars, furniture, money, investments etc and such property are not the only kind that can be safeguarded by law. Other types of property which are intangible in nature also exist. They are termed intellectual property and these are also protected by the law. There are three main kinds of property which come under this classification: patents, trademarks and copyrights.

When an author has brought out an original piece, he or she holds the copyright over this piece and is granted ownership for them. Copyright safeguards all types of artistic expressions including music, films, videos, designs etc in addition to original literature. The copyright bestows the sole right of ownership over the piece in question in addition to rights to get financial advantages arising from the work.

Trademarks bestow intellectual property rights which aim at pre-empting replication and violation of symbols registered by a person for his own products, and they help a customer easily identify the source of a product. Trademark protection gives the holder complete safety from unauthorised use of his own symbol by others to mislead customers.

The third type of intellectual property right is the patent, which is granted to inventors to protect their inventions and creations. It gives them sole right of usage and sale of their invention for a particular period.

There are a few other less common kinds of intellectual properties that can be owned by people. Some examples of other kinds are traditional understanding cultivated by inhabitants of a specific region that is unique only to that area; confidential information that include business secrets, for instance, KFC’s recipe; and positional indicators that are a variation of trademarks used for products arising from a specific part of the world, for instance Champagne.

While all the three kinds of intellectual property discussed above are different from each other there are also some similarities. All of these are safeguarded within the legal framework and the rightful owners can take legal action in a court of law and claim compensation in case of any infringement.

Discover more about trademark registration Singapore and discover how does an intellectual property protection increase the net worth of your business very fast.

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Getting It Right With Intellectual Property

On February 16, 2010, In business, By Christopher Lee

We may think that registering intellectual property (IP) ownership rights are fairly new occurrence it is not. Even the Romans stamped bricks to show their sign of ownership. Trademark law is quite ancient going out back to the year 1266 in England. The old law known as the “bakers marking law” used to indicate the maker of a loaf of bread. Each baker would have their own registered mark.

Trademark law is very well established globally. It is still flouted in some developing nations but that is the joy of the jungle. Most established businesses these days have trademark protection or are in the process of getting protection. Most people think that you have to legally register a mark to be able to use it but the opposite is true. You register a mark so that others cannot use it! When you register a trademark you gain the unique right to be the only one to use the mark or to control who can use it.

A trademark is a particular mark that permits customers to distinguish you without seeing your product. It is a unique part of your brand. Trials have shown that you can show just part of a famous trademark and people know which brand it belongs to. This indicates the power of a good image and how the brain works at remembering such things. This is why it is important to legally protect important marks and words.

You do not need to legally register a mark to own it and stop others using it but like most things in the arena of law – the one who holds the papers first wins! Registration legally fixes the date of ownership beyond any sense of doubt. In some countries common law gives some protective cover but at the end of the day you have more protection if you engage trademark lawyers to protect important IP.

These days you can self-register a trademark but there are inherent dangers of doing this of course. Trademark lawyers of course know how to register and how to protect ownership if the rights are misused. They know the full story of registration and protection. If you self-register you may get a cheap registration but you may have left a loop-hole for someone to abuse your rights later on.

Registration of trademarks can be done in one or more countries. Currently there is no such thing as a international trademark. You have to register in all the countries where you want protection.

Registration has become simpler over the recent years with the existence of systems like the Madrid System of International Registration of Marks through the World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva, Switzerland but international registration is still a boring and fairly high-priced process.

Of course the benefits of registering a trademark outweigh the costs and challenges. If you are focused about your business you should be looking at registration today.

Discover more about Trademark Registration Singapore and uncover how does a patent lawyer and IP protection add value to your business rapidly.

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Relevance Of Trademarks In Cyberspace

On February 16, 2010, In business, By Angel Finn

With the widening impact of the internet in our lives, the importance of trademarks has gained a new dimension, particularly in relation to domain names. This is quite critical because of the fact that your domain name conveys your identity as well as signifies your services to the customers.

A registered domain name helps you in making legal claims against any individual, who steals your trademark and tries to induce people into thinking that their goods and services actually are sourced from you and that you are the patron of their website.

However, you should undertake a search for presence of similar domain names to see if your selected mark is infringing any of the already existing ones. The research must investigate the presence of similar trademarks that have a strong resemblance in looks, pronunciation or meaning to your domain name. It is crucial to trademark a domain only after properly confirming that it does not violate any trademarks.

For this purpose, it is better to hire a lawyer, preferably a cyber law expert, who also has a comprehensive knowledge of trademark regulations. This can greatly help in avoiding future disputes related to possible infringement.

You must also keep in mind that the domain name that you are seeking to register should be able to act as an identifier of your goods and service and should not be just an online address to draw net users to your website.

Besides domain name violation, there is a new menace of keyword infringement one the web. It basically means violation of trademarks and their unlawful use as keywords through posting of promotional ads through advertisement services like Yahoo and Google, with the purpose of puzzling the consumer.

If the promotional ads help in boosting the sales of the trademark holder, it is not an infringement but the problem is created when the infringer starts using such ads for marketing his own goods for an economic advantage.

Discover more about trademarks Singapore and industrial design protection.

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Tips On Choosing A Patent Lawyer

On February 2, 2010, In business, By Joseph Martin

Unlike most other fields of law where the necessity of a lawyer is felt only after a dispute has come up, a patent lawyer is needed even before any issue arises. The primary duties of a patent lawyer are to assist customers obtain patents, recommend measures to secure the patents and if needed, defend the right of the patent in case of a misuse.

The patent application and registration process is generally a very time consuming and tedious one. Thus, the need for an expert and capable lawyer is felt keenly. However, you should ensure that you are hiring a competent person, who has in depth knowledge of not only the patent laws but also of the subject of creation. For example, a lawyer who comes from an area like software, may not be very knowledgeable about the patenting needs for medical products.

Another fact that the inventor must pay heed to before employing a patent lawyer is his track record in successful acquisition of patent applications. If you can gather information about the number of patents that have been given to customers of the lawyer then you will have a good idea of his capabilities. This exercise will tell you how good or efficient the lawyer is and this can determine the successful execution of your own patent application since only a good patent lawyer can well ensure the uniqueness of your work in the industry.

Of the number of upcoming lawyers in the field who deal with patents, it should be a simple job to identify one who is competent enough to deal with your needs and whose charges are not too expensive.

In addition, you must ensure that unless there are some serious lapses on part of the lawyer in dealing with your patent, you continue with the same lawyer from the application stage to any future disputes that might crop up with regard to your patent as this lawyer would have the most detailed understanding of the patent in question.

Discover more about Trademarks and learn how does an Patents protection increase the net worth of your business very fast.

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Industrial Design – An Important Element Of A Company

On January 23, 2010, In business, By Leticia Bernabe

Industrial design is usually defined as the practical application of streams of art and science to improve the function and aesthetics of an item and make it more appealing for customers. Industrial design can be applied prior to the introduction of a new commodity or for improvement of an existing product.

The primary consideration of industrial design is the way in which the customer will perceive the product. The customers must see the commodity as something valuable, for which they are ready to pay the price. This value enhancement is achieved by adding new aspects to the product so that it becomes more useful, and by enhancing its appearance so that it ends up being more visually appealing to customers.

An extensive research into the purchasing habits of customers and their choices and preferences is the first step in designing a particular product. This step is succeeded by designing, model making, sampling and comprehensive testing before launch of the item in the market. These days, the designers are making greater use of techniques such as 3D software and CAD programs for dealing with these tasks.

The primary goal of industrial design is enhancing the very essence of the product. Designers see how sturdy, useful, ergonomic and easy to use a product can be made, besides improving its aesthetic aspects like colour and sound, such as the ring tones in a cell phone. In addition, a designer can also successfully decrease the costs of production by introducing more cost effective designs.

Industrial design also encompasses other features such as packaging a product, study of a consumer’s psychological response to a product, and his or her level of emotional attachment to the item. Hence industrial designers go through years of extensive training prior to working on a real product.

Some of the well known industrial designers are Raymond Loewy, designer of the Coca-Cola bottle, Jonathan Ive, credited with designing the iMac and Brooks Stevens, the most accredited designer of the Harley-Davidson motorbikes.

Discover more about Trademarks Singapore and Industrial design protection.

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Intellectual Property (IP) Identification Tips

On January 23, 2010, In business, By Cedric Davis

If you look at the books of large businesses these days you will discover that their intellectual property (IP) adds a enormous amount to the balance sheet. In fact most companies fixed assets are infinitesimal in comparison to the brand and IP value. This tells us something very interesting – yes – how much more would your business be worth if you invested more in intellectual property (IP) recognition and registration?

When a company strategically identifies, maintains and secures its intellectual property (IP) rights then this can obviously have a huge impact on the business in terms of its overall operation, including its ability to appeal to investors, enter into particular business partnership, and ultimately increase its value when it comes to sale or company merger.

Large companies who have mega-brands like Google and Coca Cola are often quoted when it comes to their brand value as out-valuing their fixed assets hundreds of times, yet it is easy to forget how these businesses also became so enormous.

We live in an information world now. Information companies like Google can be valued at a few billion dollars a few years after creation only because information is now so valuable. Information is a tradable asset only when it is protected by intellectual property (IP) laws and other laws. Every company, big or small should consider intellectual property seriously. It is one of the best investments literally you can make with a company if the intellectual property value is capitalized within the business and added to the balance sheet.

It is highly recommended for companies of all sizes to be aware of IP issues and create particular strategies that will proactively ensure that their intellectual property (IP) will at all times be properly legally protected.

Here are a few areas to help you start concentrating on by first identifying the areas that you are creating intellectual property in:

1. Trademarks – these protect parts of your overall brand such as catchwords, pictures, names.

2. Copyrights – these cover the protection of expressive items such as documents, books, images, video recordings, audios etc.

3. Trade secrets – these protect proprietary information, internal know-how, systems and operations that are deemed to give you a business competitive edge

4. Patents and industrial designs which protect particular types of ideas and inventions and processes

Considering the above items the first step that you need to do is identifying existing intellectual property within your company. You may be amazed by how much you may have. Once all sources of a company’s intellectual property (IP) have been identified, processes should be put in place that enable the company to easily keep track of all existing intellectual property (IP) and all new intellectual property . Then someone needs to be given the responsibility to manage the intellectual property.

Once the key IP has been identified then the next step is to look at what should be registered to protect it legally. This is where a good patent lawyer comes in to play. Good IP attorneys don’t come cheap but seeing the value that is created then it pays off to invest for all your major intellectual property.

Discover more about Trademark Registration Singapore and discover how does a trademark lawyer and IP protection add value to your business fast.

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Different Kinds Of Intellectual Property

On January 21, 2010, In business, By Lenie Garner

The number of various types of legal monopolies over creations of idea, both artistic and commercial, and the related fields of law is called Intellectual property (IP). Under intellectual property law, owners have sole rights to some intangible assets like musical, literary, and artistic works; ideas, discoveries, and inventions; and words. phrases, symbols, and designs. There are four main kinds of intellectual property – trade secrets, patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

Copyrights deal with safety of original literary and other creative works. They offer legal protection for original works of creativity like novels, movies, music, and so on. By using them, the owner can legally protect the expression of an idea for a certain period, during which only he or she has the authority to reproduce it, permit its adaptation, show it to people, or sell it off. The owner has an authority over his creation for more than 50 years, which remains even after his demise and any unlawful use of the work within this time is actionable.

Patents are certified rights that safeguard the creations of the inventors by preventing other people from producing or selling their invention. Typically they are applicable to scientific theories, inventions in the field of technology and also biological discoveries. The legal cover offered by a patent in most countries is for a span of two decades, after which the invention no longer remains the sole property of the patent owner.

Trade secrets are certain confidential pieces of information that help a firm to gain an edge over its competitors in the market. A trade secret could mean anything ranging from a client database with the contact information of most valuable clients to a unique recipe or even some secret research. Usually, trade secrets are not governed by the state machinery but by strict internal standards and policies of the particular firm. The common measures taken by a firm to protect trade secrets include confining the information to a chosen handful of executives, or even keeping it under lock and key in some bank vault.

Trademarks include words, symbols or designs that are used in connection with a specific brand or product in order to separate it from products of competitors. Trademarks develop an exclusive brand identity for a company and generate instant recall in the minds of consumers. Generally, a trademark certification holds valid for a decade after which it has to be renewed.

Discover more about Trademark Registration Singapore and discover how does an Intellectual Property protection increase the net worth of your business very fast.

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