Intellectual property

FOUR TYPES OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTIONS

There are four types of intellectual property rights and protections (although multiple types of intellectual property itself). Securing the correct protection for your property is important, which is why consulting with a lawyer is a must. The four categories of intellectual property protection include:

TRADE SECRETS

Trade secrets indicate specific, private information that is essential to a business because it gives the business a competitive advantage in its marketplace. If a trade secret is acquired by another company, it could harm the original holder.

Examples of trade secrets include recipes for certain foods and beverages, new inventions, software, processes, and even various marketing strategies.

When a person or business holds a trade secret protection, others cannot reproduce or steal the idea. In order to establish information as a “trade secret,” and to incur the legal protections affiliated with trade secrets, businesses must actively behave in a manner that confirms their desire to protect the information.

Trade secrets are guarded without official registration; however, an owner of a trade secret whose rights are breached–i.e. someone steals their trade secret–may ask a court to ask toward that individual and prevent them from using the trade secret.

PATENTS

A patent is a form of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of years in exchange for publishing an enabling public disclosure of the invention. The ‘new invention’ means any invention or technology which has not been anticipated by publication in any document or used in the country or elsewhere in the world before the date of filing of a patent application with complete specification, i.e., the subject matter has not fallen in the public domain or that it does not form part of the state of the art.

When a property owner holds a patent, others are prevented, under law, from offering for sale, making, or using the product.

COPYRIGHTS

Copyrights and patents are not the same things, although they are often confused. As per the Section 14 of the Copyrights Act, Copyright means the exclusive right subject to the provisions of this Act, to do or authorise the doing the acts in respect of a work or any substantial part thereof, namely in the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, not being a computer programme. A copyright is a type of intellectual property protection that protects original works of authorship, which might include literary works, music, art, and more. Today, copyrights also protect computer software and architecture

Copyright protections are automatic; once you create something, it is yours. However, if your rights under copyright protections are infringed and you wish to file a lawsuit, then registration of your copyright will be necessary.

TRADEMARKS

Finally, the fourth type of intellectual property protection is trademark protection. Remember, patents are used to protect inventions and discoveries and copyrights are used to protect expressions of ideas and creations, like art and writing.

Trademarks, then, refer to phrases, words, or symbols that distinguish the source of a product or services of one party from another. For example, the Nike symbol–which nearly all could easily recognize and identify–is a type of trademark.

The trademarks in India are registered under the Trademark Act, 1999. The definition of a trademark is given under the Section 2(zb) as a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include the shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colours. Such trademark protection is granted by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks.

While patents and copyrights can expire, trademark rights come from the use of the trademark and therefore can be held indefinitely. Like copyright, registration of a trademark is not required, but registering can offer additional advantages.

CONSULT WITH US TO LEARN MORE

Understanding the various types of intellectual property and the four categories of intellectual property protections can be confusing, and actually registering for those protections can be overwhelming. Indeed, businesses often have more to worry about that the particulars of a patent or other intellectual property protection requirement.

When you call our partners, we will handle all of the elements associated with your intellectual property protection, ranging from identifying the type of intellectual property protection you need to be managing all documentation and paperwork to secure that protection.

We can also help your business to take action if you believe that another party has breached your intellectual property rights.

To schedule a consultation with our partners, please call us directly or send us a message.