INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Author: Gowtham Ravuri, II year of B.B.A.,LL.B. from Chandigarh University
Basically Intellectual property rights are the rights issued on the creation or work done by the person of their mind.These Intellectual property rights helps the creators from the copyright and infringement of their creation. There are three primary types of Intellectual property rights they are: Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents.
Keywords: Copyright, Trademark , Patent, Infringement,
1. Copyright: Origin of authorship, ex : book painting , poems , Computer Codes etcc..
2. Trade mark:It is used for the brand purpose, for not copying the brand ex: Company names, logos , formulas etc..
3. Patents :Used for the safeguard of the information, ex: Software, Communication etccc..
4. Trade Secret Law: This protects anything that has value and kept secret. Ex: Coco -Cola formula , pesticide formula, KFC formula etcc..
5. Rights of Pubilicity law: Rights of the Indivuduals they have with their name likeness, persona and voice.
Copyright Law
Copyright is the legal term used for describing the ownership and control of the rights to the use and disturbition of the certain works to creative expression including books, paintings, computer programming codes,etc..
Copyright mainly protects the own Ideas and expression.
Copyright law requirments
1. Original work of authorship.
2. Fixed in a tangible medium of expression.
Data can't be protected but the database will be protected, because the data is not the orignal work of authorship, but the database is the orignal creation.
Who owns the copyright? The owner or the creator of the work, unless there is an agreement to the ontary, the copyright law defaults in favour of the creator.
Agreement to change ownership
If you are an employee you submits the work to employer then you are under the agreement , they will be on the copyright.
If you are not the employee, working under the contract then the contracts are of two types :
1. Assignment- Contract to assign the copyright ownership to the company or employer.
2. Work for hire: Contract assigning the compnay as the creator and owner of the work.
How Long does Copyright lasts
For Indivuduals – From the time of creators death +70years.
For Corperations- 120 years from the date of creation.
Public Domain Works: Works whose I&PR have expired and are now available to the public.( No longer protetced by copyright law).
If you want to use the copyright of someone who is dead which is in public domian , it's free to be used by anybody for any pupose, and you can use works that have expired copyrights and also a small portion of a copyrighted work.
Changing a work by 10% protects an indivudual from copyright infringement. It's risky to use the other persons Copyright other than the small pieces of quotes.
What owns when you takes or Owns the Copyright
Ownig copyright means you can sue someone for infringement. But you have to register the copyright in order to sue for infringment.
To sue for infringement you must prove
1. The other person had accessed to your work.
2. The two works are Substantially similiar.
Benfits of prov ing the infringement
1.Collect damages
2.Collect attorney fees.
3.Recover the losses suffered due to infringement.
Trademark law
Trademark is the mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distuinguishing between the goods and services of one person to another one brand to another brand, including shape, design, quality etc..
It represents the certiain brand , colour, shape etc..of the products or any slogans EX: Nike, Starbucks.
Trademark Law Requirements
1. The selected trademaek should be capable of being represented graphically.
2. The trademark should be capable for distuinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from other ones.
The owner of the trademark controls the nature, quality and quantity of the goods and services used in connection with the brand.
How Long Does Trademark lasts
The trademark lasts upto 10 years from the date of registration, the use of trademark registered can be kept in use as long as it uses but must be renewd for every 10 years.
The trademark can be lose by the abandonment, by the trademark filler, a trademark will be considered abandoned if the filler stop using it for three consecutive years and have no intentionto resume its use , and also the trademark can be losen through improper licensing or improper assignment.
Anyone can sue the trademark infringemnet by providing the proof of the usage or proving that the infringement is similar to your trademark.
Patent Law
Patent law is the branch of Intellectual property law that deals and protects the new inventions. Patent rights are granted for the new inventive process that are able to satisfy the patent eligibility requirements that having novelty and are capable for industrial application.
A set of the rights that protects inventions for a certain period of time. Nowadays patents are used to cover pharmaceuticals, Software methods etc..
To be patentable, inventions must be 1. NOVEL 2. Have utility 3.Unique.
A patent application and resulting patent is owned by the inventor of the claim invention, unless a written assignmnet is made or the inventors are under an obligation to assign the invention.
Requirements of Patents
1. Should be invented by using his/her own innovatative idea.
2. Should be a major for acquiring the patent.
A patent application and resulting patent is owned by the inventor of the claim invention, unless a written assignmnet is made or the inventors are under an obligation to assign the invention.
How long does the Patent lasts
The patent protection is granted for the limited period of time, it lasts upto 20 years from the date of filling.
For proving the Patent infringement the patent owner can file a civil lawsuit and also to recover the damages for the past infringement and obtain injuctions aganist the further infringing activites. For proving the patent infringed the hon'ble Court requires the plantiff to prove two main elements:
1. Ownership and validity of the patent and
2: Infringement of the patent by the defendent.