IP Week 1

• Intellectual property law includes patents for inventions, literary, dramatic, musical and artistic copyright, copyright in recording, films and broadcasts, registered and unregistered design rights and trade marks
• Intellectual property law textbooks have also commonly considered other areas of the law, in particular those relating to confidential information, privacy, and databases
• The rights under the umbrella term 'intellectual property' will apply to various types of subject matter to a differing test
• The rights may derive from either statute or common law and be acquired by formal registration or not
• Copyright


  A set of exclusive rights granted by statute in relation to literary and artistic creations in a broad sense, that generally lasts for 70 years after the death of the author
• Patent


  A monopoly right granted by statute for the commercial exploitation of an invention for a limited time, usually 30 years
• Trade mark


  Indicates the origin of goods and services, and may be protected from misuse by third parties, either by rights acquired via registration or through evidence of use
• Design rights


  May protect the aesthetic or functional aspects of the designs of industrial articles
• Design may be protected through the act of creation or by registration and there is a plurality of design rights available
• Design rights


  Protect against copying or misuse of designs; last between 3 and 25 years
• Confidential information


  Covers commercial secrets; protected through common law as long as it maintains confidentiality
• Misuse of private information

  Developed from protection of confidential information; offers a narrow privacy right
• Database rights


  Statutory right based on substantial investment; protects against extraction and reuse of data for at least 15 years
• Intellectual property rights cover intangible subject matter, whether an intellectual creation, innovation, or information per se
• In intellectual property litigation, courts must identify the boundaries of the subject matter being protected
• There is a difficulty in drawing the boundary between two intangible subject matters when one is alleged to have infringed the other
• Patents


  • Patent specification exists to describe and define the invention that is protected
• Trademarks


  • Must be presented as clear and precise to be registered
• Investment in intangibles (knowledge assets or intellectual capital) in the UK in 2018 was £169.2 billion
• Apple's trillion US dollar worth derives from its powerful trademarks, innovative designs, and sophisticated functionality rather than manufacturing costs
• Pfizer's immense value derives from its patent portfolio rather than manufacturing costs
• The scope and enforcement of intellectual property rights is an important political concern, addressed in international fora and by individual governments
• Intellectual property (IP)


  Grants owners exclusive rights to do certain acts and prohibit others from doing these same acts
• Exclusive rights allow owners to charge higher prices for their intellectual products than they would otherwise be able to do and to restrict others from using them
• It has generally been thought necessary to justify the privilege of IP
• Some justifications are more apt for some IPRs than for others
• There are justifications which apply only to a specific IPR rather than to all
• Unjust enrichment


  The unauthorised user of a work receives a benefit from its use and thereby 'reaps where she has not sown'
• The principle against reaping without sowing is not absolute
• The principle against reaping without sowing is not an independent principle that can be used to justify entitlements to the exclusive use of a work
• Whether a particular unauthorised use constitutes an unjust enrichment depends upon whether, and how strongly a creator's claim to exclude others from its use can be justified
• The argument from unjust enrichment does not establish why the creator has a stronger claim to his or her work than other persons
• Natural rights justification


  Based on the work of John Locke, which supports a theory of property, as opposed to intellectual property
• John Locke: 'God, who hath given the world to man in common, hath also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage of life and convenience'
• John Locke: 'Though the earth and all inferior creatures be common to all men, yet every man has a 'property' in his own 'person. This nobody has any right to but himself. The 'labour' of his body and the 'work' of his hands, we may say are properly his'
• Locke's theory of property has been utilized by scholars to justify the existence of IPRs
• Objections to Locke's theory of property include: the total value of an intellectual creation may not be entirely attributable to the labour of an individual, labour is an imprecise tool for designating the boundaries of intangible objects, and alternative mechanisms could be used to reward creators instead of property rights
• The Lockean theory has numerous contentious features, so supporters of IPs frequently invoke an alternative natural-rights justification, namely the Hegelian personality theory
• Personality theory


  Posits that property provides a unique or especially suitable mechanism for self-actualization, for personal expression, and for dignity and recognition as an individual person
• The personality theory has an intuitive appeal when applied to intellectual property: an idea belongs to its creator because the idea is a manifestation of the creator's personality or self</b>