Chapter 7 Introduction To Intectual Property

Introduction to Intellectual Property
Introduction to Intellectual Property
 What is Intellectual Property?

-Most countries throughout the world have
developed a series of rules that attempt to protect the
results of innovative thinking; and these are generally
referred to as Intellectual Property.
- Essentially the value that is gained or added to

a business or product from a creative process. There are
a lot of different kinds of Intellectual Property laws, but
they all have the same goal; to allow creative thinkers
to benefit financially from and to protect their
inventions/ creations.
How does Intellectual Property Law
Work?
-IP laws are designed to try and protect business assets.

The kind of IP laws that will be relevant to a business
depend on the types of asset a business has. However
some of the business assets that will normally merit the
protection of IP laws include business brands;
photographs; books; computer software; and paintings.
Why Should You Protect Your Assets?
-One may question why there is a need to go through

what might appear to be a complicated process of using
IP laws to protect business assets. An unfortunate
reality of operating in the commercial world is that
competitors and imitators or ‘copycats’ will attempt to
use the products of business that have invested time,
money and energy in the development of their brands
and products to their benefit. If a business makes use of
IP laws to protect its assets, this reduces the likelihood
of competitors copying their ideas. In some
circumstances, business rivals will still hope to make
subtle changes to designs in the hope of avoiding
claims of IP infringement. However, some IP laws will
guard against even subtly changed products from
entering the market.
Why Should You Protect Your Assets?
-One may question why there is a need to go through

what might appear to be a complicated process of using
IP laws to protect business assets. An unfortunate
reality of operating in the commercial world is that
competitors and imitators or ‘copycats’ will attempt to
use the products of business that have invested time,
money and energy in the development of their brands
and products to their benefit. If a business makes use of
IP laws to protect its assets, this reduces the likelihood
of competitors copying their ideas. In some
circumstances, business rivals will still hope to make
subtle changes to designs in the hope of avoiding
claims of IP infringement. However, some IP laws will
guard against even subtly changed products from
entering the market.
What are the Different Kinds of
Intellectual Property Rights?
-Most businesses develop and sell different kinds of

products in a given market. Modern IP law reflects this
reality and a comprehensive set of rules have been
developed to protect different kinds of business assets.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright is a kind of legal right that is designed to reward an
individual or business for the creation of, and investment in a
particular kind of product. In order for a particular kind of work or
product to be protected under the legislation, there are very
clear requirements that need to be met. The CDPA states that
before something will be protected, it must fall within one of the
following categories of work; literary, dramatic or musical work,
films and sounds recordings, broadcasts, cable programmes or
published editions. It is important to note however, that the Act
does not allow artistic works, films or broadcasts that were made
before 1 June 1957, or cable programmes made before 1 January
1985 to benefit from Copyright protection.
The creator or author of a piece of work, which falls within the

categories outlined above under the CDPA that holds the
copyright. Unlike many other kinds of protections afforded to
creative works, copyright does not require any form of
application process. Under a number of international
agreements, copyright will arise automatically.
Trade Marks
A Trade Mark is another branch of the IP regime in the UK. They
are commonly discussed in relation to businesses, and their
brand. One of the ways that businesses differentiate themselves
from their competitors is to create a brand or corporate image
that identifies it as distinct and unique among its competitors. It
is not uncommon that a great deal of time, effort and money has
been spent on creating a brand that will be a good
representation of a business. However, the brand of a business
is vulnerable to imitation by competitors if not properly guarded.
This can be achieved by a business registering its brand as their
Trade Mark. In law, a business’s brand is its Trade Mark.
Examples of this include WHSmith and Nike.
Assuming that a business brand meets the necessary criteria, it

is the business that holds the Trade Mark. However, as
mentioned above, a business must apply to the IPO to
demonstrate that its brand is sufficiently distinct to warrant
Trade Mark protection.
Patents
 Businesses operating in the creative industries often
need to break technological boundaries, in order to
survive in such a competitive environment. This
normally involves a significant investment in time and
expertise. As a reward for a business’s investment,
Patents allow new inventions to be protected. To be
more precise, a Patent is designed to protect not only a
new inventions but also how it works.
 If a Patent is awarded to a particular invention in the UK,
this protects it under British civil law. This means that no
one will be able to make, use, import or sell the
invention that is protected by the Patent within the UK,
without the owner’s permission
 A Patent, like many other kinds of IP right, does not arise
automatically. Where a business or individual is looking
to protect their invention, they must apply to the IPO.
Design Rights
 Intellectual Property law is a fairly well understood
system in the UK. However, of all the kinds of legal
protection afforded to the results of one or another
creative process, Design Rights are often the most
unheard of.
 When a product is made or developed it will have a
particular appearance, or a ‘Design’. Businesses and
inventors will often hope to protect some or all of the
appearance of a given product, and this is where
Design Rights can become useful. It is important to
note that there are two ways to protect the design of
a product;
By ‘Registered Design’
Registered Designs are a more formal kind of legal
protection afforded to products than Design Rights.
They give the complete right of ownership over the look
of a product. However, unlike Design Rights, a
Registered Design must be applied for from the IPO.
Registered Designs will only be granted where a look is
sufficiently novel, compared to other products already
available in a given market.
The individual or business that applies to the IPO to

have Registered Design Rights will own them, following
a successful application. However it is important to note
that Registered Designs, like unregistered Design
Rights, can be sold or licensed.
Thank you for not
listening!

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Introduction to Intellectual Property

Introduction to Intellectual Property

 What is Intellectual Property?

- Essentially the value that is gained or added to

-IP laws are designed to try and protect business assets.

-One may question why there is a need to go through

-One may question why there is a need to go through

-Most businesses develop and sell different kinds of

The creator or author of a piece of work, which falls within the

Assuming that a business brand meets the necessary criteria, it

The individual or business that applies to the IPO to

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