What Are The Several Types Of Intellectual Property?
Posted By Janet Garner on October 19, 2010
The list of distinct types of legal monopolies over creations of idea, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law is called Intellectual property (IP). Under intellectual property law, proprietors have exclusive rights to several intangible assets like musical, literary, and artistic works; ideas, discoveries, and inventions; and words. phrases, symbols, and designs. Trade secrets, copyrights, patents, and trademarks are four main types of intellectual property.
Copyrights deal with protection of original creative works. They safeguard the ownership of works of art like musical compositions, poetry, films, novels etc. By making use of copyrights, the owner can legally protect the expression of an original idea for a stipulated period, during which only he or she has the authority to reproduce it, permit its adaptation, show it to people, or sell it. The owner has a claim over his work for more than 50 years, which remains even after his demise and any unlawful use of the creation within this period is treated as an offence.
Patents are legal and registered rights that allow inventors to stop others from manufacturing or marketing their invention. They are usually applicable to cases such as significant biological discoveries, scientific theories and technical inventions. Most of the countries offer patent protection only for a span of 20 years, subsequent to which the invention no longer remains in the private domain and the inventor loses his exclusive rights.
Trade secrets are those secret ideas or information that a company can use for an advantage over its competitors. A trade secret could be anything ranging from a customer database with the names and addresses of most valuable clients to a unique recipe or even some secret research. In most cases, trade secrets are issues pertaining to internal management of the company, which do not involve any type of government intervention. Two most commonly used ways of protecting a trade secret are keeping it in a bank vault or keeping it confined to a restricted number of officials, so that it is not within reach of a lot of people and hence remains secure.
Trademarks are words, logos and graphics that identify a specific brand or firm and differentiate it from the rival brands. Trademarks develop a brand identity that helps the customers recall or identify the manufacturer on seeing the trademark. Usually, a trademark registration holds valid for 10 years after which it has to be renewed.
Discover more about trademark registration Singapore and discover how does an patent lawyer and IP protection increase the net worth of your business very fast. This article, What Are The Several Types Of Intellectual Property? is available for free reprint.
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