Unit 13 Intellectual Property

licensee

A person to whom the owner of a patent, copyright, or trademark grants a right to use

inventor

A person who creates an invention. (author, maker, creator, devisor, pioneer, improviser)

patentee

A person who receives a patent

generic

1. Pertaining to a kind, class, or group. 2. General; inclusive

tying

(Also called tie-in). Business practice in which the purchase of a patented item is tied to a second, non patented item. An unjustified tying arrangement is patent misuse

author

1. A person who produces a written work. 2. A person who originates something; a maker. In copyright law, a person can be an author without producing any original material, provided she does something beyond copying, such as compiling or editing (producer, maker, originator, biographer, inventor, creator, planner)

license

1. A special privilege, not a right common to everyone. 2. Authorization by the owner of a patent to make, use, or sell the patented article; permission by the owner of a trademark or copyright to use the trademark or to make use of the copyrighted material.

work made for hire

1. A work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment. 2. A work specially ordered of commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work, as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a supplementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, as a test, as answer material for a test, or as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire

intangible property

1. An incorporeal right unrelated to a physical thing. EXAMPLES: a right to sue (i.e., a cause of action); a right to inherit property. 2. Property that has no intrinsic value, but evidences something of value. EXAMPLE: a stock certificate (which evidences a share in the ownership of the corporation that issued it).

writing

1. Anything that is written. The Uniform Commercial Code defines "written" or "writing" to include "printing, typewriting, or any other intentional reduction (or words) to tangible form." 2. The expression of ideas by visible letters, numbers, or other symbols

device

1. In patent law, an invention. 2. An emblem such as a business logo or a union label. 3. An apparatus; machine, appliance, or contrivance. (instrument, mechanism, contraption, invention, construction, apparatus)

invention

1. The act of creating something patentable. 2. The thing that has been invented. 3. The act of creating something new. (finding, discovery, creation, improvisation)

automated database

A body of facts, data, or other information assembled into an organized format suitable for use in a computer and comprising one or more files

unfair competition

A collection of common law principles that protect against unfair business practices

visually perceptible copy

A copy that can be visually observed when it is embodied in a material object, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

pioneer patent

A patent in a new field; a totally new device; a basis patent

exclusive jurisdiction

A court's sole authority to hear a certain type of case

trade libel

A libel that defames the goods or products a person produces in her business or occupation, as opposed to a libel against the person herself.

service mark

A mark design, title, or motto used in the sale of advertising of services to identify the services and distinguish them from the services of others. A service mark is the property of its owner and, when registered under the Trademark Act, is reserved for the exclusive use of its owner

trademark

A mark, design, title, logo, or motto used in the sale or advertising of products to identify them and distinguish them from the products of others. A trademark is the property of its owner and, when registered under the Trademark Act, is reserved for the exclusive use of its owner. The symbol ® is used to indicate a registered trademark. (logo, brand, identification, mark, design, initials, logotype, stamp)

design patent

A patent of a design that gives an original and pleasing appearance to an article

drawing (trademark)

A substantially exact representation of the mark as used (or, in the case of intent-to-use applications, as intended to be used). A drawing is required for all federal trademark applications and for many state trademark applications

piracy

A term for infringement of copyright or for using literary property without permission, plagiarism. (plagiarism, infringement, appropriation)

collective mark

A trademark or service mark used to identify a trade association, fraternal society, or union

infringement of trademark

A use or imitation of a trademark in such manner that a purchaser of goods is likely to be decided into believing that they are the goods of the owner of the trademark

infringement

A violation of a right or privilege. (violation, misfeature, invasion, encroachment, interference, breach)

patent medicine

An over-the-counter medication; a medication concocted by a manufacturer, often according to a secret formula. Note that a patent medicine is generally not patented; however, it if often protected by trademark

trademark license

Agreement granting limited trademark rights

exclusive license

Agreement to restrict the grant of proprietary rights to one person

amendment to allege use

Amendment to an intent-to-use application indicating use of a mark on commerce; the amendment can only be filed before approval of the mark for publication (or, if there is a rejection, within six months of the response period).

useful article

An article having an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or to convey information. An article that is normally a part of a useful article is considered a useful article

transfer of copyright ownership

An assignment, mortgage, exclusive license, transfer by will or interstate succession, or any other change in the ownership of any or all of the exclusive rights in a copyright, whether or not it is limited in time or place of effect, but not including a nonexclusive license

usefulness

An invention must have a use or purpose and must work (i.e., be capable of performing its intended purpose).

divisional application

Application made for an independent invention that has grown out of an earlier application; a method of dividing an original application that contains two or more inventions. Trademark applications may also be divided

motion picture

Audiovisual works consisting of a series of related images that, when shown in succession, impart an impression of motion with sound, if any

Patent and Trademark Office

Authorized by the Constitution and established by Congress, this office of the federal government registers all trademarks and grants all patents issued in the United States. Its duties also include examining patents, hearing and deciding appeals from inventors and trademark applicants, and publishing the Official Gazette

trade secret

Confidential information concerning an industrial process or the way in which a business is conducted. Trade secrets are of special value to a business and are the property of the business

evaluation agreement

Contract by which one party promises to submit an idea and the other party promises to evaluate the idea. After the evaluation, the evaluator will either enter into an agreement to exploit the idea or promise not to use or disclose the idea

work of authorship

Creating of intellectual or artistic effort fixed or embodied in a perceptible form and meeting the statutory standards of copyright protection

disparagement of goods

Criticism that discredits the quality of merchandise or other property offered for sale

disparagement

Discredit; detraction; dishonor; denunciation; disrespect

patentable

Entitled to receive a patent. To be patentable, an idea must include every essential characteristic of the complete and practical invention

logo

Graphic symbols that function as a mark

misappropriation of trade secret

Improper acquisition of a trade secret by a person who has reason to know that the trade secret was obtained by improper means, or the disclosure or use of a trade secret without consent by a person who either had a duty to maintain secrecy or who used improper means to acquire the secret

literary work

In copyright law, "works, other than audiovisual works, expressed in words, numbers, or other verbal or numerical symbols or induced, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as books, periodicals, manuscripts, phone records, film, tapes, disks, or cards, in which they are embodied."

public use

In patent law, any use of an invention other than a secret or experimental use.

intangible asset

Intangible property that has value

authorization of agent

Inventor's or patent owner's authorization of representation by a patent agent

utility patents

Legal protection granted for inventions of discoveries that are categorized as machines, processes, compositions, articles of manufacture, or new uses of any of these

abandonment of trademark

Loss of trademark rights resulting from nonuse of the mark; demonstrated by sufficient evidence that the owner intends to discontinue use of the mark. May also occur when a mark has lost its distinctiveness or through the owner's misuse of trademark rights

dramatic works

Narrative presentations (and any accompanying music) that generally use dialogue and stage directions as the basis for a theatrical exhibition

write of seizure

Order of the court directing the federal marshal to seize and hold infringing merchandise; granted only upon payment of a bond

intellectual property

Property (EXAMPLES: copyrights; patents; trade secrets) that is the physical or tangible result of original thought. Modern technology has brought about widespread infringement of intellectual property rights. EXAMPLES: the unauthorized reproduction and sale of videotapes, audiotapes, and computer software.

tangible property

Property, real or personal, that has physical substance; property that can be physically possessed. EXAMPLES: real estate; automobiles; jewelry

doctrine of equivalents

Right of patent owner to prevent sale, use, or manufacture of a discovery or invention if it employs substantially the same means to achieve substantially the same results in substantially the same way as that claimed

moral rights

Rights that protect the professional honor and reputation of an artist by guaranteeing the right to claim or disclaim authorship of a work and the right to prevent, in certain cases, distortion, mutilation, or other modification of the work.

patent infringement

See infringement of patent. "The manufacture, use, or sale of a patent or process patent without the authorization of the owner of the patent"

disclaimer

Statement that a trademark owner asserts no exclusive right in a specific portion of a mark, apart from its use within the mark

abstract

Summary of the invention that enables the reader to determine the character of the patentable subject matter

registration

The act of registering (recording, reservation, inscription, enrollment, filing, listing)

dilution

The adverse effect of use of a similar work on the reputation of a distinctive mark, even though the use may not confuse consumers as to the source of the goods or services; occurs when the defendant's use weakens or reduces the distinctive qualify of the mark. A claim of dilution is available only under state laws, sometimes known as antidilution statutes.

architectural work

The design of a building as embodied in any tangible medium of expression, including a building, architectural plans, or drawings; it includes the overall form as well as the arrangement and composition of spaces and elements in the design, but does not include individual standard features

literary property

The interest of an author, or anyone to whom she has transferred her interest, in her own work; the exclusive right of an author to use and profit from her own written or printed intellectual production.

infringement of patent

The manufacture, use, or sale of a patent or process patent without the authorization of the owner of the patent

trade name

The name under which a company does business. The goodwill of a company includes its trade name

basic registration

The primary copyright record made for each version of a particular work

fair use doctrine

The principle that entitles a person to use copyrighted material in a reasonable manner, including a work's theme or idea, without the consent of the copyright owner. EXAMPLE: teachers photocopying one page of a magazine for students

patentability

The qualify of being patentable

access

The reasonable opportunity of the defendant to view or hear the copyrighted work

patent rights

The rights a patentee receives with respect to her invention as a result of having been granted a patent for it.

trade dress

The size, shape, texture, color, graphics, and other distinct features of a product that constitute its total appearance used to promote the sale of the product

transmit

To communicate a copyrighted work by any device or process whereby images or sounds are received beyond the place from which they are sent

display publicly

To show a copy of a copyrighted work, either directly or by means of a film, slide, television image, or any other device or process where the public is gathered or the work is transmitted or otherwise communicated to the public

work of visual art

Under the Copyright Act of 1976, either (1) a painting, drawing, print, or sculpture, existing in a single copy, in a limited edition of 200 copies or fewer that are signed and consecutively numbered by the author, or, in the case of a sculpture, in multiple cast, carved, or fabricated sculptures of 200 or fewer that are consecutively numbered by the author and bear the signature or other identifying mark of the author; or (2) a still photographic image produced for exhibition purposes only, existing in a single copy that is signed by the author.

trademark infringement

Use of a substantially similar mark by a junior user that creates a likelihood of consumer confusion.

use in commerce

Use of a trademark by placing it on goods or containers, tags or labels, displays associated with the goods (or, if otherwise impracticable, on documents associated with the goods), and selling or transporting the goods in commerce regulated by the United States

infringement of copyright

Using any portion of copyrighted material without the consent of the copyright owner. See also copyright

exhaustion doctrine

When a patented product (or product resulting from a patented process) is sold or licensed, the patent owner loses some or all patent rights as to the resale of that particular article

arbitrary mark

Word or image that has a common meaning that does not describe or suggest the goods or services with which it is associated

audiovisual works

Works that consist of a series of related images that are intrinsically intended to be shown by the use of machines or devices, such as projectors, viewers, or electronic equipment, together with accompanying sounds if any, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as films or tapes, in which the works are embodied

intangible

adj. Without physical substance; nonmaterial. n. A thing that may or may not have value, but has no physical substance; an intangible asset or intangible property. EXAMPLES: a copyright; goodwill. adj. nonphysical, abstract, imperceptible, impalpable

distinctive

adj. characteristic, distinguishing, particular, uncommon, idiosyncratic, salient

patent

n. 1. The exclusive right of manufacture, sale, or use granted by the federal government to a person who invents or discovers a device or process that is new and useful. 2. The grant of a right, privilege, or authority by the government. The abbreviation "Pat." is often used. v. To obtain a patent upon an invention. (permit, license, certificate, trademark, right, legal right)

derivative work

n. A work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications that, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship is also a derivative work

copyright

n. The right of an author, granted by federal statute, to exclusively control the reproduction, distribution, and sale of her literary, artistic, or intellectual productions for the period of the copyright's existence. Copyright protection extends to written work, music, films, sound recordings, photographs, paintings, sculpture, and some computer program and chips. The symbol © is used to show copyright protection. v. To acquire a copyright (authority, grant, license, permit, privilege, authorization)

idea

n. concept, thought, belief, proposal