© 2008 International Intellectual Property June 18, 2009 Class 4 Introduction to Design Protection and Trade Secrets

© 2008 Major Types of Intellectual Property Patents Copyrights Design Protection Trade Secrets Trademarks

Design Protection Designs are covered by various forms of IP –Copyrights –Trademark/Trade dress –Design Patents –Design Registration What type of designs may be protected? –Clothing –Cars –Furniture © 2008

Other IP Rights for Designs Copyright –Copyright protects creative expression, so it is sometimes relied upon to protect designs, but it has limitations Does not protect function or idea Allows for independent creation Can be difficult to prove copying Trademark/Trade Dress –Protect identifiers for commercial products (e.g., slogans, packaging, etc.), but also has limitations Does not protect function Trade dress protection not uniform © 2008

Specific Design Protection Systems Design Patents (United States) –Application process similar to that for utility patents (i.e., substantive examination process) except Design must be “ornamental” or nonfunctional Term: 14 years from application Design Registration (EU) –No substantive examination Simply must comply with registration formalities, not substantive requirements –Design must be novel, but the standard is much lower than for patents © 2008

Council Regulation (EC) No. 6/2002 Establishes unified design protection right throughout EU –“Community Design” or “CD” Term of CD –Unregistered 3 years from when it was first made available to public in EU –Registered Renewal term of 5 years from date of filing up to a maximum of 5 years Registration is not required but confers certain benefits –Protects against independent creation –Presumption of validity in infringement action © 2008

Trade Secrets Trade secrets are usually protectable if they are –Commercially valuable –Undisclosed –Protected by reasonable means Trade secret protection –provided by statutory and common law –generally lasts as long as the information remains a secret Examples of Trade Secrets –Coca-Cola’s secret formula; products in development; customer lists; manufacturing processes © 2008

Trade Secret vs. Patent Trade Secrets No limitation on term of protection (as long as it stays secret, it’s protected) Not required to disclose to public But, trade secret protection does not preclude reverse engineering and use –i.e., as long as it is accomplished without misappropriating information from owner Patents Term generally limited to 20 years from application Must disclose sufficient information about invention so that a PHOSITA can practice it Patent rights preclude independent creation –Patent holders have the right to exclude others from the market © 2008