INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN FINLAND

Patent Trade mark Copyright Industrial design Utility model

Sources of Law IP law is typically regulated country by country. There are treaties and conventions, however, that attempt to make enforcement more international. Nevertheless, you should always know the laws of the country in which you seek protection.

Types of IP COPYRIGHTS protect expressions of ideas TRADEMARKS protect marks that Identify a source of goods or services PATENTS protect ideas reduced to physical practice TRADE SECRETS protect commercially valuable, generally unknown information, based on reasonable efforts to protect

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OBJECT OF PROTECTION PREREQUISITE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION HARMONIZED IN THE EU PATENT Product, device, process, chemical substance Novelty, an inventive step, susceptible of industrial application Paris Convention EU Patent PCT UTILITY MODEL New technical solution, form, structure or their combination Novelty TRADE MARK Sign that individualises the goods and services of an enterprise Distinguishable Madrid Protocol Community Trade Mark INDUSTRIALDESIGN Design visible to eyes Community Design COPYRIGHT The tangible form of a creative endeavour Original, intellectual creation Berne Convention

Public Domain Public Domain: contains all knowledge That is not protected by intellectual property law. Intellectual property law provides protection that is limited: Either in duration (e.g., patent and copyright) and/or in scope (e.g., FAIR USE in copyright). Unauthorized use of protected intellectual property is an infringement of the property owner's rights.

Transferability and Duration Once created, intellectual property is transferable via the ordinary law of contracts and ( intangible) personal property. Once protection terminates, or if protection is not properly obtained, then the intellectual property reverts to the public domain.

PATENT To be patentable an invention must Coverage Be new Involve an inventive step Be susceptible of industrial application Coverage Products, devices, chemical substances or processes

Economic issues Patentees can exploit their inventions for up to 20 years Application fees Designation fees Annual renewal fees payable to the national patent offices of the designated countries

UTILITY MODEL "Petty Patent" New technical solution Materializes as a form, structure or their combination Must be susceptible of industrial application Faster and cheaper to apply than a patent

TRADEMARK Sign that individualises The goods and services of a given enterprise and Distinguishes them from those of its competitors

What Is A Trademark? A trademark protects any word, name, symbol, or device that acts as an indication of source of a product or service, including slogans, sounds and packaging Purpose of trademark protection: Promote public interest in knowing the source of a good or service Protects the goodwill and reputation of the trademark owner Duration: Trademarks may exist indefinitely, as long as they are not abandoned

Types of Trademarks Service Marks (identifying the source of services rather than goods) are comparably defined and governed by nearly identical rules Collective Marks indicate membership in groups, e.g., unions Certification Marks indicate quality, conformance with standards, etc. (e.g., UL, CB, Common Criteria) Trade Names are not necessarily trademarks, but can be if they don’t merely reiterate owner’s name

Trademark Criteria To be enforceable, trademarks must be: used in commerce (or bona fide intention to do so within 3 years), not likely to cause confusion in the marketplace, not merely descriptive or generic i.e., of the goods, the owner, geographic location, and not: deceptively (geographically) misdescriptive comprised of immoral, deceptive, disparaging or scandalous matter comprised primarily of: a national flag or insignia names or portrayals of living persons (w/o their consent)

Trademark Ownership/Transfer In US, trademark assignments must be recorded with USPTO within 3 months of transfer if not, mark may be unenforceable against infringers, subsequent bona fide purchaser who records assignment within statutory time period Trade marks can be deemed abandoned if not consistently used or maintained in US, can be as little as 3 years w/o actual use, adequate quality control, etc.

Trademark Enforcement Strength/enforceability of trademarks can be weakened by improper use as a verb/adjective (“to Xerox a document”) failure to consistently enforce mark against infringers faulty marking “®” only used for registered marks “™” used in all other situations

Trademark Symbols Use of the "TM", "SM" and "®" Trademark Symbols If you want to claim the rights of a name or logo, use the TM (trademark) or SM (service mark) designation to give notice to the public about your claim. This use of the TM or SM Trademark Symbol does not mean a legally enforceable trademark. The registration symbol, ®, however, does carry legal weight. It may only be used when the mark is registered properly.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN Design which can be seen by eyes Novelty is a prerequisite No artistic requirements

COPYRIGHT Creative endeavour which is an intellectual creation and original The work must be capable of being fixed in a tangible medium => protection is given to the expression of the work, not the idea E.g. literary, musical and dramatic works, pantomimes and choreographic works, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, motion pictures and other audio-visual works, sound recordings, computer software

Protected by copyright 1. Pecuniary rights Right of reproduction: Right to make copies of a work Distribution rights: Right to place in circulation, the original work or copies of it Right of performance: Right to communicate the work to the public by any means whatsoever 2. Moral Rights 1) Right to object to distortion, mutilation or modification (right of respect) 2) Right to be recognised as the author (right of paternity) 3) Right to control public access to the work