Intellectual property

• Patent is an exclusive right acquired over an invention to sell, use, or make the same for commerce or industry
• Patentable invention is defined as any technical solution of a problem in any field of human activity that is new, involves an inventive step, and is industrially applicable
• Patent system is a bargain for encouraging the creation and disclosure of new useful and non-obvious advances in technology and design
• Three-fold purpose of a patent:

  • To foster and reward invention
  • To promote disclosures of inventions to stimulate further innovation and permit the public to practice the invention once the patent expires
  • Stringent requirements for patent protection ensure that ideas in the public domain remain there for free use
• Requisites for a patent:

  1. Novelty: An invention is new if it does not form part of prior art

  2. Inventive Step: An invention involves an inventive step if it is not obvious to a skilled person in the field at the time of filing

  3. Industrial Applicability: An invention must be producible and usable in any industry
• Utility Model:

  • Refers to an invention in the mechanical field
  • Cannot be patented but can be registered for 7 years without renewal possibility
• Industrial Design:

  • Refers to any composition of lines, colors, or three-dimensional forms that give a special appearance to an industrial product
  • Can be registered if the invention is new but not industrially applicable and lacks an inventive step
• Rights granted by a patent:

  1. Exclusive rights to prevent unauthorized making, using, selling, or importing of the patented product or process

  2. Right to assign or transfer the patent and conclude licensing contracts
• Law on Trademarks:

  • A mark can be a word mark, service mark, or tradename
  • Trademark protects goods, while tradename refers to the business and goodwill
• Function of Trademarks:

  1. Indicate origin or ownership of goods

  2. Prevent fraud

  3. Protect against substitution of inferior products

  4. Advertise the articles they symbolize

  5. Secure the fruit of labor and skill in bringing superior merchandise to the market
• Duration of trademark protection is 10 years, renewable for another 10 years

  Rights include preventing third parties from using similar signs or containers likely to cause confusion
• Remedies for trademark infringement:

  • Damages, expenses of the suit, and destruction of infringing materials without compensation
  • Injunctions for future use and protection against unfair competition