Intellectual property (I.P.) No-one owns the ideas that they think up or thoughts they have but if you can put them down on paper then you may have a piece of property you can own. If you think up a new story you own nothing, but if you write it down then your story is automatically protected by copyright. If you have an idea for an invention or design you own nothing, but if you put it down in writing or pictures you may be able to get a patent or registered design. If you think up a snazzy logo for a product you still don’t own anything, but draw it on paper and you could register it as a trademark. All these things go under the name ‘intellectual property’. Intellectual because they are based on your original thinking, property because in law they can be treated just like any other property and bought, sold, rented or hired.

Types of protection for intellectual property: Trade mark Copyright / Design Right Registered Design Patent Task: draw a mind map which includes the above types of protection and explains when and why they are used.

® TM Trade mark Can be registered forever (a fee is paid every 10 years) Nike Rowntree - Nestle

© Copyright / Design right Post date Copyright is free! Images of product with ‘Design right’ written on them Written work with copyright symbol written on it Post date Copyright is free!

Registered design Protects the appearance of a product not how it works The product must have ‘individual character’ Protection for up to 25 years (a fee is payable every 5 years)

Patent Protection for 20 years (pay a fee every year)

Read the articles on Dyson Questions: How long did it take Dyson to develop his first vacuum cleaner? How many prototype models did Dyson make of his first vacuum cleaner? At what point did Hoover first find out about Dysons’ vacuum idea? Why did Dyson go to court against Hoover? What was the outcome of the court case? Apart from vacuum cleaners what other products has Dyson developed?