Patents, trademarks, copyrights and some other legal concepts all fall within a broad area called "Intellectual Property." Of course, that just leads to the next question: what is Intellectual Property? We'll provide a rough definition and go on.
Intellectual Property is anything that the law allows individuals or groups to own (in other words, property) but which is at its most basic a mental idea or reputation more than it is a tangible, solid, item.
The
definition provides very little hint of what is protectable as intellectual property.
Concretely, songs, art, inventions, logos: yes, these things exist in physical reality, but more important
by far is the idea, the concept, behind each one.
Instead of playing with words, think about some
personalized examples of Intellectual Property
("IP"). An easy one: the invention of a miraculous chemical that cures cancer,
or the building of a better mousetrap.
Obviously, these are protected by
patent law.
But for a much more comprehensive discussion of the
broad range of patentable subject matter,
see the section on patents.
Many things beyond machines can be patented!
Suppose one writes a book or a play, or make a movie: the law grants the author exclusive rights
to sell or show the artistic work. If someone copies it illegally, the creator has an action under
copyright law.
The content of this site is copyright protected:
we grant readers the right to read it
(which means copying it into the volatile memory of the reader's computer) but not to copy it in any
fixed media like the hard-drive or a paper print-out.
Suppose that a business person's name is John Washington, John sells high quality widgets
using the name "Washington's Widgets". If someone else sets up shop using the same name, John
has a right to stop them: they may not be selling quality widgets or they may be selling good
widgets but trading on his good reputation to do it. This is the basis for an action in
trademark protection,
or possibly an action in various types of unfair competition law. This particular example
could become quite complex in the course of trademark registration or defense, however!
Washington could be taken by a stranger to the business as a place name, a person's name,
or a reference to President Washington, and each of these three possibilities entails
different legal ramifications.
How about reputation? Individuals have a right to their good names,
literally. When someone else uses an individual's name for advertising,
that individual should have a right to stop
them. In the area of IP Law, this is represented by laws about publicity rights.
Another related area of law,
newly born and not usually treated as IP law, deals with identity theft.
Hopefully, this makes it clear what is IP and what isn't. Just don't forget one important
issue: these property rights are created by law! Indeed, ALL property rights, even to tangible
items like land, personal property such as cars, the clothes on our backs, the computer on which
we are likely reading this and literally everything else in the world, ALL of these property
rights are creations of human society, expressed in the law and protected by the law.
Perhaps it is no surprise that intellectual property is just the same.
Intellectual property rights are whatever the law says they are, and
those rights only! This means the extent of protections varies by topic, varies from nation to
nation, and varies based upon how the owner uses those rights. On this same thought,
failure to consider the practical need to protect one's IP rights can be disastrous.
A patent is no good if it's coverage isn't broad enough to protect
the invention, nor if the owner fails to take steps to stop infringement.
For readers who believe that they may have some IP
of their own to protect, the first issue is to determine what
category of IP law it fits into. And while it may not be obvious at first
what category the subject fits
within, or even if it is protectable at all, the range of protections
offered by the law are very broad.
With experience, it is possible to protect an amazing array of humanity's intellectual, engineering,
business and artistic advancements. If you have any doubts about how to classify your own work,
contact us! And in addition, let's get a bit more detailed about these protections.
Look at the list below and select the type of IP of interest to you, or read about them all, as appropriate.
1. Types of Intellectual Property
2. About Patents
.....a) Computer Patents
.....b) Software Patents
.....c) Telecommunications Patents
.....d) Electronics Patents
.....e) Business Method Patents
.....f) E-commerce Patents
.....g) Mechanical Patents
.....h) Chemistry Patents
.....i) Biotechnology
Patents
.....j) Pharmaceutical
Patents
3. About Trademarks
4. About Copyrights
5. Other Types of Protection
6. International Protection
7. Costs
8. For a Free Initial Consultation
9. Further Questions
10. About Mr.
Barber