Overview of Intellectual Property
The term Intellectual Property
encompasses the following various forms of protection that are available
to stop unfair competition.
Patents. If somebody makes a inventive
technological advance, they can apply to patent it, and if successful
they can use the patent to prevent unauthorised commercial exploitation
of their technological advance, whether by copying or otherwise.
Registered Designs. If somebody designs
a new aesthetic industrial product, they can apply to register the
design, and if successful they can use the registered design to prevent
unauthorised commercial exploitation of the design, whether by copying
or otherwise.
Design Right. If somebody designs a new
industrial product, whether aesthetic or not, design right may well
subsist automatically in the shape or configuration of the product, and
they can use the design right, without any requirement for registration,
to prevent unauthorised copying of the design.
Topography Right. If somebody creates
an original topography for a semiconductor chip, topography right may
well subsist automatically in the topography, and they can use the
topography right, without any requirement for registration, to prevent
unauthorised commercial exploitation of products incorporating the
topography.
Copyright. If somebody creates an
original literary work (including a computer program), dramatic work,
musical works or artistic work (including a technical drawing),
copyright may well subsist automatically in the work, and they can use
the copyright, without any requirement for registration, to prevent
unauthorised copying of the work. Other forms of copyright relate to
sound recordings, films, broadcasts and cable programmes, and
typographical arrangements of published editions.
Plant Breeders' Rights: If somebody
breeds, discovers or develops a new plant variety, they can apply for
plant breeders’ rights, and if successful they can use their rights to
prevent unauthorised commercialisation of the plant variety.
Secrecy: If somebody has developed a
new industrial process which can be kept secret, or a new product which
cannot be reverse-engineered, they can keep the product or process
secret while commercialising it, and they may be able to use the law of
contract or the law relating to breach of confidence to take action
against somebody who divulges the secret.
Trade Marks:. If somebody adopts a mark
which is capable of distinguishing their goods or services from those of
others, they can apply to register the mark, and if successful they can
use the registered trade mark to prevent unauthorised use by others of
the mark and similar marks for those and similar goods/services.
Passing Off: If somebody has built up a
reputation in a mark or get-up, they can, without registration, use the
law of passing-off to stop others from using the mark or get-up to trade
off their reputation.
The remainder of this guide is concerned with
intellectual property mainly from a British perspective.
