Intellectual Property Rights Overview

General Overview of Intellectual Property (IP)

• Intellectual Property law is a subset of civil law.
• Rights are linked to intangible assets, independent of physical forms, and are governed by a defined set of rights.
• IP encompasses creations like works, patents, trademarks, and designs.

Purpose of IP Protection

• It protects both creators and users of intellectual works.
• Innovation is encouraged by protecting rights and offering economic incentives.
• Intangible goods are commercialized by converting them into private goods like patents and trademarks.

Types of Intellectual Property Rights

• Industrial Property Rights cover patents, trademarks, geographical indications, and designs.
• Industrial Property Rights enable the monopolization of specific economic activities for profit.
• Copyrights provide protection for literary, artistic, and scientific works.
• Related Rights include rights for performers, producers, and broadcasters.

Sources of IP Law

• Polish Laws include the Act on Copyright and Related Rights (1994), the Act on Industrial Property (2000), and the Act on Suppression of Unfair Competition (1993).
• International Agreements include the Paris Convention, Berne Convention, TRIPS Agreement, EU Directives, and Community Regulations.

Economic Aspects of IP

• Creators can profit from their work by the exclusive rights granted.
• Market structures are influenced by establishing monopolies.
• Long-term economic incentives for creators are ensured.

Patents

• Protect inventions with novelty, inventiveness, and industrial applicability.
• Exclusive rights are provided for 20 years.
• Patents can be monetized through commercialization, sale, or licensing.

Trademarks

• Goods or services are identified by distinctive signs.
• Protection is provided for an initial term of 10 years, with indefinite renewals.
• Well-known and famous trademarks are included in the categories.

Designs

• The physical appearance of products (2D or 3D) is protected.
• The protection lasts for 25 years (in 5-year periods).
• Unregistered EU designs receive limited protection.

Geographical Indications

• The origin of goods with unique qualities attributed to their location are designated.
• Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) are included.

Acts on Suppression of Unfair Competition

• Practices such as misleading designations, product imitation, and unfair advertising are protected against.
• Spam and pyramid schemes are included under unfair practices.

Challenges in IP

• Patent trolls exploit the system for disputes rather than innovation.
• Counterfeit goods and unauthorized use of trademarks and designs remain critical concerns.

Technological and Legal Developments

• The expansion of IP protection is occurring with technological advancements.
• New regulations, like the EU Unitary Patent, simplify cross-border protections.

Definition and Scope of Copyright

• Copyright protects intellectual activity in literary, artistic, and scientific works.
• Performances, phonograms (sound), broadcasts, and other related rights are covered,
• Authors are given exclusive legal rights (monopoly) for using and benefiting from their work.
• Copyright (economic and moral rights) is distinguished from related rights (e.g., performances and publications).

Characteristics of a Work

• A work must meet four essential criteria: human activity, creative activity, individual nature, and established form.
• Examples of works include books, music, films, computer programs, BA/MA theses, presentations, artistic designs, and derivative works.

Author's Rights

• Moral Rights (AMR) protect the personal connection between the author and their work.
• Moral Rights last unlimited in time and remain valid even after the author's death, and they cannot be transferred or waived.
• Key elements of Moral Rights include attribution, integrity of the work, and the right to decide the first public disclosure.
• Economic Rights (AER) provide the author with exclusive control over the commercial use of their work through reproduction, distribution, performance, broadcasting, licensing, or transferring rights for profit.
• Economic Rights are limited to 70 years, then the work enters the Public Domain but remains subject to moral rights.

Derivative Works and Collections

• Derivative works include adaptations, translations, and transformations based on an original work, requiring permission from the original author unless economic rights have expired.
• Collections and databases are protected if their arrangement demonstrates creativity, even if they include unprotected materials.

Limitations and Exclusions

• Ideas, methods, principles, procedures, and mathematical concepts are excluded from Copyright Protection.
• Official documents, legislative texts, and symbols are excluded from Copyright Protection.
• Fair Use Exceptions include personal use, education, research, and judicial purposes (non-commercial).

Ownership and Transfer of Rights

• The author is the original rights holder unless stated otherwise in a contract or by law.
• Rights can be transferred through employment agreements or licensing or sale of economic rights.

Related International and National Laws

• The Polish Act on Copyright and Neighboring Rights (1994) and its amendments.
• The Berne Convention establishes global standards for copyright protection.
• The TRIPS Agreement harmonizes IP protection across WTO member states.
• EU Directives ensure harmonization of copyright laws across member states.

Public Domain

• Works enter the Public Domain after the expiration of economic rights (70 years post-author's death).
• The Public Domain allows free use but does not override moral rights.

Practical Examples of Protection

• Protected works include musical compositions, architectural designs, software, and derivative works like translations or adaptations.
• Non-protected examples include legislative acts, simple facts, and designs without originality.

Importance of Copyright

• Copyright protects creators' interests and ensures fair remuneration.
• Creativity and innovation are encouraged by safeguarding intellectual effort.
• Public access is balanced with the economic rights of authors.

General Principles of Copyright Law

• Works (literary, artistic, and scientific) are ensured protection as well as economic benefits for creators.
• Fair Use allows limited, lawful use of works without the author's permission under specific conditions, like personal or educational purposes.
• Public Fair Use balances economic rights with public access to information.

Fair Use Types

• Personal Fair Use allows using works within a private network but excludes architectural works, urban planning, computer programs, and some databases, while including non-commercial uses like downloading legally hosted files.
• Public Fair Use permits quoting, educational use, and scientific research under conditions like attribution and limited scope, which covers activities like quoting works for critical analysis or teaching.

Specific Rights and Restrictions

• Author's Economic Rights include the right to profit from and control the use of their works, limited until 70 years after the author's death.
• Author's Moral Rights are permanent and non-transferable, protecting the author's personal relationship to their work including attribution and integrity.

Copyright on the Internet

• Internet-related copyright challenges include global accessibility, extraterritorial issues, and misuse through unauthorized sharing (e.g., P2P networks).
• Legal alternatives include Creative Commons Licenses to facilitate lawful sharing and adaptation of works, as well as legal software downloads and free software alternatives.

Creative Commons Licenses

• Allow creators to specify how their works can be shared or adapted.
• Four core license types: Attribution (BY), Non-Commercial (NC), No Derivatives (ND), and Share Alike (SA).
• Licenses can be combined to tailor usage rights.

Plagiarism

• Defined as the unauthorized use of another's work while claiming it as one's own.
• Includes self-plagiarism (reusing one's own previously published work without attribution).
• Legal and disciplinary consequences include civil and criminal penalties as well as the resumptionof academic degree procedures.

Infringement and Liability

• Unauthorized use of copyrighted material may result in civil sanctions (fines and damages), criminal penalties (up to three years of imprisonment for serious violations), and academic consequences (expulsion or revocation of academic degrees).
• Monitoring systems are used to detect violations.

Free and Open-Source Software

• Promotes the sharing and collective improvement of software.
• Examples: include Linux, GIMP, LibreOffice, and R.
• Governed by licenses like GNU-GPL, which allow modifications and redistribution.

Copyright Challenges

• Enforcement difficulties are due to anonymity and global accessibility on the Internet.
• Copyright trolling: Misuse of copyright laws for unjust monetary gain.
• Legal disputes over digital content sharing remain significant.

Explore the fundamentals of Intellectual Property (IP) law, a subset of civil law that governs intangible assets. Learn about the purpose of IP protection, which encourages innovation and offers economic incentives to creators and users. Discover different types of IP rights, including industrial property rights and copyrights.