Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) PDF

**Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)** Topic 4 I. What is intellectual property? **Intellectual property** refers to intangible assets like inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images used in commerce. These are protected by law to prevent unauthorized use ог exp...

**Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)** Topic 4 I. What is intellectual property? **Intellectual property** refers to intangible assets like inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images used in commerce. These are protected by law to prevent unauthorized use ог exploitation without permission. This protection ensures creators and innovators can benefit economically from their creations, fostering innovation and creativity across various industries. - **Definition**: Legal rights that protect creations of the mind, such as inventions, designs, artistic works, and brands. - **Purpose**: To give creators and inventors control and financial benefits over their work while preventing unauthorized use or copying. II. **Types of Intellectual property:** 1. **[Patents ]** **Patents** is a legal right given to an inventor for a **new invention** or technology. It allows the inventor to have **exclusive rights** to use, make, and sell their invention for a certain period, usually 20 years. **Example:** Utility Patents: These protect new and useful inventions or processes. Examples include: A new type of smartphone with innovative features. Design Patents: These protect the ornamental design or appearance of a product. Examples include: The unique shape of a beverage bottle, such as the Coca-Cola bottle design. 2. **[Trademarks]** A **trademark** is a **symbol, logo, word, or design** that identifies and distinguishes the goods or services of one company from those of others. It helps consumers recognize a brand and ensures that businesses can protect their unique identity in the market. **Example: Starbucks Siren Logo** - **Description**: The **Starbucks Siren** logo, featuring a twin-tailed mermaid, is used on their coffee cups and stores. - **Impact**: The logo is associated with premium coffee and a distinctive cafe experience, making Starbucks easily recognizable globally. 3. **[Copyrights ]** **Copyright** is a law that protects the creative works of people like writers, artists, musicians, and software developers. It gives the creator the exclusive right to use their work and stop others from using it without permission. ### Examples: Books & Software - **Harry Potter** books by J.K. Rowling are copyrighted. You can\'t print and sell your own version of the book without her permission. Possible consequences when you in Copyright violations can lead to lawsuits, fines, content removal, and criminal charges. 4. **[Trade secrets]** A **trade secret** is any **confidential business information** that gives a company a competitive edge. This can include formulas, processes, designs, strategies, or other proprietary knowledge that is not generally known to the public. Unlike patents or trademarks, **trade secrets** are protected **as long as they remain secret** and are not disclosed or used without permission. **Example: KFC\'s Secret Spice Recipe** - **Description**: **KFC**'s **11 herbs and spices** used in its fried chicken is a closely guarded trade secret. - **Impact**: This secret recipe has made KFC\'s fried chicken distinct and helped the brand create a competitive advantage in the fast-food industry. - **What are some examples of violations of intellectual property?** - Counterfeiting Counterfeiting involves the unauthorized replication or imitation of products, typically physical goods, that are protected by trademarks or copyrights. The counterfeit products are often sold as genuine items, deceiving consumers and infringing on the rights of the original creators or brand owners. - Piracy Piracy refers to the unauthorized copying, distribution, or use of copyrighted materials, often digital content such as software, music, movies, and books. Piracy can happen on a large scale, with pirated copies distributed online or sold in physical formats. - Plagiarism Plagiarism is a specific type of intellectual property (IP) violation that involves using someone else\'s work, ideas, or expressions without proper acknowledgment, presenting them as your own. Unlike counterfeiting and piracy, which typically involve physical or digital goods, plagiarism is more closely related to the unauthorized use of written, artistic, or academic content. - Unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted materials: Unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted material is a violation of intellectual property (IP) rights where someone uses, copies, or distributes content protected by copyright without obtaining permission from the copyright holder. - Copyright Protection: Copyright grants the creator of original works exclusive rights to use and distribute their creation for a certain period of time. This protection typically covers literary works, music, films, software, artworks, and more. - Unauthorized Reproduction: This involves copying copyrighted material without permission, which can include making physical copies or digital duplicates of the original work. - Unauthorized Use: This occurs when someone uses copyrighted material without obtaining permission from the copyright owner, violating the owner's exclusive rights. - Infringement of patented inventions or trademarks: Infringement of patented inventions or trademarks refers to the unauthorized use, production, sale, or imitation of a product, process, or brand that is legally protected by a patent or trademark. - Patent Infringement: A patent grants its holder the exclusive right to make, use, sell, and import an invention for a certain period, usually 20 years from the filing date. Patent infringement occurs when another party makes, uses, sells, or imports the patented invention without permission. - Trademark Infringement: A trademark is a symbol, word, phrase, design, or combination that identifies and distinguishes the source of goods or services. Trademark infringement occurs when someone uses a mark that is identical or confusingly similar to a registered trademark without authorization, potentially causing confusion among consumers about the source of the goods or services. III. **Why Intellectual property rights is important?** - **Protection of Ideas and Creations**: IP rights protect creators' ideas, inventions, and creative works. Without IP protection, individuals or businesses might lose the ability to control how their ideas are used and potentially face exploitation without compensation. - **Encourages Innovation and Creativity**: By offering legal protection, IP rights encourage individuals and companies to invest time, effort, and money into creating new products, technologies, and artistic works. Knowing their creations are protected allows creators to share their ideas with more confidence. - **Economic Growth**: IP rights contribute to economic growth by allowing creators to monetize their inventions, brand names, logos, designs, and creative works. This fosters a market for innovation, which can lead to job creation, investment, and new industries**.** - **Promotes Fair Competition**: IP rights help maintain a level playing field by preventing others from copying and profiting from someone else\'s work. This ensures that businesses can compete based on the quality of their own inventions and creations. - **Brand Identity and Consumer Trust**: Trademarks, for example, help businesses establish their brand identity and create a connection with consumers. Consumers rely on IP-protected brands to guarantee a certain level of quality and consistency. - **Global Recognition and Trade**: IP rights can help businesses enter global markets with the assurance that their inventions and brands are protected. It fosters international trade and cooperation by offering a legal framework that can be respected across borders. - **Prevents Unauthorized Use and Infringement**: IP laws give creators legal means to protect their work from being reproduced, distributed, or used without permission, ensuring they receive recognition and compensation for their efforts. IV. **Patent Filling Process** The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is the government agency mandated to administer and implement State policies on intellectual property (IP) to strengthen the protection of IP rights in the country. 3 conditions set by the IPOPHL for an invention to be patentable: - *Has to be new* -- an invention must be truly new and original to deserve patent protection. - *Involves an inventive step* -- The term \"inventive step\" is a crucial concept in patent law. It means that an invention must represent a significant advance or different from what has already been known. - *Industrially applicable* -- This means that the invention must be capable of being manufactured and used in any industry. In the Philippines, the term of a patent lasts for 20 years from the date when the filing was made. However, once the patent reaches its 5^th^ year, it has to be maintained annually. This means that all issued patents are subject to annual fees or maintenance fees, which must be paid to maintain the patent. How to apply for a patent: - Before collecting all the necessary documents for your application, it\'s important to first conduct due diligence by searching for existing patents and applications. This can be done through the IPOPHL website. - Determine whether you are eligible to submit your application online or if it must be done in person. According to the IPOPHL website, applications that exceed 250 pages must be submitted in person. If your patent application is less than 250 pages, you can file it online. **The requirements for applying a patent:** - Fill out the Patent Application Form. - Provide details about the patent. The following information must be included in the specification and description: 1. Title 2. A brief statement of its nature and purposes 3. Drawings of the invention 4. Brief explanation of the drawings, if any 5. Complete and detailed enabling description 6. Distinct and explicit claim or claims which the applicant seeks to be protected 7. Abstract of the invention Pay the required fees once the documents have been submitted. V. **Protecting and Managing IP Assets** Protecting and managing intellectual property (IP) assets is important for ensuring that your creative ideas and inventions are legally protected and can be used to benefit your business. Here's a simpler breakdown: ### 1. **Identify What You Own** - Recognize the things you've created that have value, like inventions, brand names, or artistic works. ### 2. **Get Legal Protection** - **Patents**: Protect inventions. - **Trademarks**: Protect brand names and logos. - **Copyrights**: Protect creative works - **Trade Secrets**: Protect confidential business information. ### 3. **Register Your IP** - Officially register your IP to make sure it's legally protected. This gives you the right to control how it's used. ### 4. **Enforce Your Rights** - Keep an eye out for anyone using your IP without permission. If they do, take action like sending a warning or suing. ### 5. **Manage Your IP** - Keep track of all your IP, renew rights when needed, and make sure it's being used to benefit your business (e.g., through licensing or selling). ### 6. **Protect Your IP Globally** - If you do business internationally, consider protecting your IP in other countries too, as laws can vary by region. ### 7. **Have an IP Strategy** - Think about how IP fits into your business. Decide which IP to protect, how to use it to grow your business, and how to commercialize it. ### 8. **Educate Your Team** - Make sure employees and partners understand the importance of protecting your IP and sign agreements like NDAs to keep things confidential. ### 9. **Avoid IP Problems** - Regularly check that your business isn't accidentally using someone else's IP without permission. In short, managing IP means protecting your ideas and creations from others, ensuring you can benefit from them, and avoiding legal issues.