1. ECE362 Principles of Design
Intellectual Property
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2. Development Grant = $$$
Product Development
Product Idea
Product
Specifications
Test Plan
Stage 1 – Product Idea, Product Specifications, &
Test Plan
Intellectual
Property
Technical
Model
Business
Model
Stage 2 – Intellectual Property, Technical & Business Models
Market
Analysis
Project
Management
Scheduling
Stage 3 – Mkt Analysis,
Project Management, &
Scheduling
Stage 4 – Budget,
Social Impact &
Proposal Completion
Budget &
Resources
Social
Impact
Personnel
Qualifications
Development Grant = $$$
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3. Intellectual Property
RHIT Intellectual Property Agreement
Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
Trade Secrets
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4. RHIT IP Policy
RHIT makes no claim on IP generated by student projects for courses conducted as part of a course.
RHIT resources used outside of class work may give RHIT IP claim.
RHIT employees and students agree to IP policy by virtue of employment and enrollment.
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5. Patents
Intended to provide incentive for effort and expense of invention.
In exchange for public disclosure, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants an exclusive rights to an inventor for a period of 17 years.
Patented inventions can be used by others through licensing and royalty arrangements.
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6. Patents New, non-obvious, and useful.
Specifications (including claims and drawings as needed) and an oath.
First to invent, not first to file.
Patent searches automated over web.
Patent regulations differ throughout the world.
No world-wide, universal patent.
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7. To Patent or not to Patent?
Patents offer IP protection through the legal system.
Attorneys are needed to defend a patent.
A large corporation can out-maneuver a small company and tie up decisions in litigation for many years.
Patents may not be useful for product with short life < time for patent grant.
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8. Poor Folk’s Patents
Inventor’s Notebook - Document the details of your idea, date, sign, and witnessed.
Send a copy of product technical description, date, signed and witnessed to yourself in order to have the official postmark to verify the date.
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9. Trade Secrets
Patent may be too time consuming considering the product life time
No protection offered by legal system
Corporate security
Corporate espionage/Reverse engineering
Non-disclosure agreements
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10. Copyrights Artistic Expression
Written articles, recorded music, software
Recent legislation and judicial decisions put into a state of “chaos”
DMCA
Anti-DMCA
Fair Use
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11. Assignments
TEAM ASSIGNMENT - Draft 1 – HLD and PDS of Potential Project due on Friday, December 12.
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT – CPR on Intellectual Property begins on Friday, Dec 12, Complete by Monday, December 15.
TEAM ASSIGNMENT – 2nd Draft PDS of Team Project due Tuesday, December 16.
TEAM ASSIGNMENT – Annotated IP search for Team Project due Friday, December 19.
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