FAQs about Intellectual Property
What are intellectual property (IP) rights?
Intellectual property, which is often abbreviated to ‘IP’, can be thought of in the same way other types of property can – it is capable of being owned, transferred, leased or licensed. Just like other types of property, the owner of intellectual property has rights that are protected by the law. However, there is one obvious difference: intellectual property only applies to intangible property which includes unique ideas and original work. It can be thought of as the ownership of thought rather than anything physical.
Literature, artworks, music, inventions and even certain colours, smells and jingles are all capable of being protected by intellectual property law. The distinction needs to be made between the tangible and intangible. The materials used to paint a painting (the oils and the canvas) are types of tangible property. The actual painting – that is the ideas contained in it, the style used, the way the colours are used – is intangible and can be considered intellectual property.
Why is IP law important?
Given the description above, it is clear that a vast number of situations in everyday life are covered by IP law. Every time you read a book, use a product, listen to music, watch a programs and advertisements on TV, it is more than likely you are being exposed to IP rights. For good or worse, the modern world would not look the same; businesses would lose competitive advantages and anyone in a creative occupation would struggle to make a living.
What is a patent?
Patents are a type of IP right used to protect inventions, unique mechanical ways of doing things and new solutions to existing technical problems. Additional requirements include the idea having an application to a particular industry (can be defined widely) and technical characteristics that have not been created anywhere in the world and have been verified by an expert in the relevant field.
What cannot be protected by a patent?
Apart from types of idea and creative work subject to other IP rights, patents cannot be used to protect knowledge of the natural world, mathematical solutions, and medical discoveries, amongst other things.
How long do patents last for?
20 years.
What is a copyright?
Copyrights are a type of IP right that can be automatically created without any formal legal procedures being followed. Copyrights protect original works of an artistic nature (I use the word artistic to express the idea of creating something). Types of work protected by copyright include pure art (paintings, sketches, sculptures etc.), literature, computer code, journals, marketing and business plans, marketing databases, films, videos, radio broadcasts. The list is very long indeed.
For how long do copyrights exist?
The holder can enforce their rights for their lifetime of the creator of the work plus an additional 70 years.
What is a trademark?
Trademarks are used to protect the association of certain ideas, brands, goods and services with a particular organisation or company. They allow businesses to maintain competitive advantages, make their business easily identifiable to customers, create brands and protect reputations. Trademarks can protect a wide range of ideas including strap lines (slogans), logos, brand names, particular words or colours and even scents!
Trademarks generally come in two forms: registered and unregistered.
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