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Quote of the Day “One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.” Walter Bagehot, English economist and journalist

Patents  A patent is a grant by the government that permits the inventor exclusive use of an invention for 20 years (or 14 years in the case of design patents).  A patent is not available solely for an idea, but only for its tangible application.

Utility Patent  This is the basic type of patent. It is available to those who invent or significantly improve a: Mechanical invention Electrical invention Chemical invention Process Machine Composition of matter

Other Patents  Design Patent – protects the appearance, but not the function of an item.  Plant Patent – protects a newly created plant, provided that the inventor can reproduce it asexually (through grafting, for example).

Requirements for a Patent  To obtain a patent, the new invention must be: Novel – not known or used in this country and not published anywhere. Nonobvious – cannot be an obvious way to do something. Useful – must have some application, even if not commercially practical.

Patent Application & Issuance  Priority Between Two Inventors – generally, the person first to invent and use the product is given the patent, even over an earlier filer.  Prior Sale –must apply for a patent within one year of selling the product.  Provisional Patent Application – a shorter, cheaper way to file for a patent temporarily, to determine if the invention is commercially practical.

Duration of a Patent  From 1861 until 1994, most patents were good for 17 years.  Now most are good for 20 years.  Design patents are only good for 14 years.  Infringement A patent holder has exclusive rights to use the invention during the terms of the patent.

Copyrights  The holder of a copyright owns the particular tangible expression of an idea, but not the underlying idea or method of operation.  Copyright protected categories include: literature, music, drama, choreography, pictures, sculpture, movies, recordings and architectural works.  Copyrights are valid until 70 years after the author’s death or, if owned by a corporation, 95 years after publication or 120 years after creation.

Infringement  To prove a violation, the plaintiff must show that the work was original, and that either: The infringer actually copied the work, or The infringer had access to the original and the two works are substantially similar.  A court may: Prohibit further use of the material Order destruction of infringing material Require infringer to pay damages

Fair Use  The doctrine of fair use permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission of the author for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, or research.  Copying music and distributing it over the Internet is not “fair use.”  The court held that parody is a fair use of copyrighted material as long as the use of the original is not excessive.

Computers  Software – copyrightable aspects: Codes – both source and object codes Structure – how a program accomplishes a task Look and Feel – the way a program looks and uses symbols

Internet  Digital Millennium Copyright Act Makes it illegal to delete copyright information, such as the author’s name, and then distribute the work via the internet. It is also illegal to circumvent encryption or scrambling devices.

Trademarks  A trademark is any combination of words and symbols that a business uses to distinguish products or services.  Types of Marks Trademarks—affixed to goods Service marks—identify services, not goods Certification marks—marks used by an organization to attest that products meet certain standards Collective marks—marks that identify members of an organization

Ownership and Registration  First person to use a mark in trade owns it.  Registration is not necessary, but does have some advantages.

Valid Trademarks  To be valid, a trademark must be distinctive. Fanciful marks – made up words Arbitrary marks – existing words that otherwise have no tie to the product Suggestive marks – indirectly describe the product Trade dress – includes shape, size, color and texture, if it is unique to this product.

Non-Valid Trademarks  To be valid, a trademark cannot be: Too similar to an existing mark A generic word, such as “shoe” A descriptive word such as “crunchy” A person’s name alone Deceptive, scandalous or immoral  Marks with secondary meaning cannot, by themselves, be trademarked unless they have been used so long that they are now associated with the product.

Infringement  To win an infringement suit, the trademark owner must show that the defendant’s trademark is likely to deceive customers about who made the product or provided the service.  Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995 The new statute prevents others from using a trademark in a way that dilutes its value. Even if the misuse does not confuse a consumer about the origin of a product, a trademark cannot be used by others.

Domain Names  Internet addresses, (domain names), were originally assigned with no cost.  Now, domain names are bought and sold – sometimes for enormous amounts of money, and sometimes sold by people who originally registered those names for free.  If a domain name infringes on a registered trademark, the domain name will be suspended immediately if the trademark owner challenges it.

Harmonizing International Laws  Some treaties and other agreements protect copyrights and trademarks worldwide. These include: Paris Convention Patent Cooperation Treaty Berne Convention WIPO Copyright Treaty Madrid Agreement Trademark Law Treaty

Trade Secrets  A trade secret is a formula, device, process, method, or compilation of information that, when used in business, gives the owner an advantage over competitors who do not know it.  The Economic Espionage Act of This statute prohibits any attempt to steal trade secrets for the benefit of someone other than the owner, including for the benefit of any foreign government.

“Intellectual property is a major source of economic prosperity and individual wealth. New ideas increase both productivity and pleasure. Where would we be without patented inventions, books, movies and computer software? ” “Intellectual property is a major source of economic prosperity and individual wealth. New ideas increase both productivity and pleasure. Where would we be without patented inventions, books, movies and computer software? ”