Intellectual Property Rights For companies to gain financial benefits from investing in research and coming up with new inventions, there must be legal protection for those inventions. Did You Know? Table A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent. The protection is granted for a limited period, generally twenty years from the filing date. Trademarks A trademark is a distinctive sign, which identifies certain goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise.
The system helps consumers identify and purchase a product or service because its nature and quality, indicated by its unique trademark, meets their needs. Trade Secrets Broadly speaking, any confidential business information which provides an enterprise with a competitive edge can qualify as a trade secret. A trade secret may relate to technical matters, such as the composition or design of a product, a method of manufacture or the know-how necessary to perform a particular operation.
Common items that are protected as trade secrets include manufacturing processes, market research results, consumer profiles, lists of suppliers and clients, price lists, financial information, business plans, business strategies, advertising strategies, marketing plans, sales plans and methods, distribution methods, designs, drawings, architectural plans, blueprints and maps, etc.
Licensing IP Rights The word license , according to the World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO , means permission granted by the owner of the intellectual property to another to use it according to agreed terms and conditions, for a defined purpose, in a defined territory, and for an agreed period of time.
Today, WIPO seeks to harmonize national intellectual property legislation and procedures, provide services for international applications for industrial property rights, exchange intellectual property information, provide legal and technical assistance to developing and other countries, facilitate the resolution of private intellectual property disputes, and marshal information technology as a tool for storing, accessing, and using valuable intellectual property information.
Key Takeaways Intellectual property IP refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, and images used in commerce. Under IP law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights intellectual property rights to a variety of intangible assets. Through IP protection, owners are given the opportunity to license or sell their innovations to others, which can be an important way of creating value with these assets.
The World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO is the global nongovernmental organization tasked with coordinating and marshaling efforts to harmonize intellectual property rights among countries and regions.
What are the four main types of IP? Patents and trademarks are territorial and must be filed in each country where protection is sought. For more information on how to apply for individual patents or trademarks in a foreign country, contact the intellectual property office in that country directly. A list of contact information for most intellectual property offices worldwide can be found at the World Intellectual Property Organization. By filing one patent application with the U.
Learn more about filing an international patent application under the PCT. Name optional. Not Helpful. In , Apple lost its use of the iPhone trademark after a court in Beijing found in favor of a local firm that had appropriated it. It took 11 years for Apple to get IP rights approved in China, by which time a local leather goods manufacturer had already snapped up the trademark.
In this case it did. A Chinese court found Apple could not prove the brand was well-known enough locally before the local firm began using it. But China does have a process and legal protection for intellectual property. What matters is that brands approach this market in the right way when it comes to defending their IP. One of the first courses of action is to establish whether your brand does indeed have rights to its own intellectual property in that country.
However, your rights to a particular piece of intellectual property are usually constrained by territorial borders. In other words, just because your trademark is protected in the U. To get intellectual property protection internationally, you will need to register your property with each country you want protection in. Random Article.
Home Random Terms of Use. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. How to Protect Intellectual Property Internationally. Explore this Article parts. Related Articles. Co-authored by Clinton M. Part 1. Determine where protection is needed. Patents and trademarks are territorial, which means you will need to get intellectual property rights in each country you plan on doing business in.
For example, if you have intellectual property rights in the United States, but you plan on doing business in China, your intellectual property rights in the United States will not extend to China. You will need to seek separate protection with the China. Many countries extend copyright protection automatically. When you are determining where, if anywhere, you will need intellectual property protection, you will need to consider the following: Will you be conducting business outside of the United States?
Are you ever going to export products? Will you ever manufacture products abroad? Can you afford international intellectual property protection? What forms of intellectual property do you have? What are the chances that your product will be copied overseas? Obtain country specific toolkits. If you have determined that you need protection in certain countries, intellectual property rights toolkits are a great place to find information on obtaining that protection.
These toolkits, compiled by the U. Department of Commerce with the help of U. These toolkits can be found online and are available for most major countries. For example, you can find a toolkit for protecting your rights in Brazil, China, the European Union, and Mexico, among others. They walk you through the process of applying for protection in individual countries. However, if you are looking at protecting your intellectual property in many countries abroad, you may want to submit regional applications or file applications under international law.
Follow each country's process. Once you have determined which country you need protection in and you have found the applicable toolkit, you should take the time to read through it and understand the registration process.
Each toolkit will have detailed instructions for registering all types of intellectual property. For example, in China, you will need to do the following before filling out and filing a patent application: First, you should hire qualified counsel to help you navigate the complex international intellectual property scene. A lawyer will assist you in determining what applications need to be filed, when they need to be filed, and where they need to be filed.
Second, if you do not have an office in China, you will need to get an officially designated agent to funnel your patent application through. Once you have a designated agent, you will be ready to fill out an application.
Fill out an application. International intellectual property applications can be incredibly complex and difficult to fill out.
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