Intellectual Property - Ch. 1
International Trademark Association
(INTA) A not-for-profit international association devoted to promoting trademarks
North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) A trade agreement entered into in 1991 by the United States, Canada, and Mexico
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
(TRIPS) Agreement promulgated in accordance with the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade providing intellectual property protection for WTO members
United States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) the agency within the Department of Commerce charged with registering trademarks and granting patents
World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) a specialized agency of the United Nations with more than 180 member nations that promotes intellectual property throughout the world and administers various multilateral treaties dealing with intellectual property, including the Berne Convention
World Trade Organization
(WTO) An international organization established in 1995 with more than 150 member countries, created by the Uruguay Round negotiations to handle trade disputes and monitor national trade policies; the successor to GATT
How long is patent protected?
20 years from the date of filing of an application for utility patents and plant patents and 15 years from the date of grant for design patents
Patent
A grant from the U.S. government permitting its owner to exclude others from making, selling, using, or importing an invention for a limited period of time
Trademark
A word, logo, phrase, or device used to indicate the source, quality, and ownership of a product or service; technically, trademark refers to a mark that identifies a product, while service marketing refers to a mark that identifies services
Service Mark
A word, name, symbol, or device used to indicate the source, quality, and ownership of a service
Paris Convention
An agreement adhered to by more than 175 member nations providing foreign trademark and patent owners may obtain in a member country the same protection for their trademarks and patents as can citizens of the member country
Madrid Protocol
An agreement adhered to by more than 90 countries including the EU and United States that allows one to seek an "international trademark registration" that would be valid in all member nations
Nondisclosure agreement
An agreement requiring a party to maintain information in confidence; also called confidentiality agreement
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (the Berne Convention)
An international convention adhered to by more than 165 nations that requires its members to treat nationals of other countries as their own nationals for purposes of copyright
Trade Secret
Any valuable business information that is not known to others and is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy
How long is a copyright protected?
From the moment of creation plus 70 years after the authors death
How long is a trade secret protected?
In perpetuity
Real Property
Refers to land or real estate
Personal property
Refers to specific items and things that can be identified, such as jewelry, cars, and artwork
Copyright
Right protecting original works of authorship, including literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, and other works, from unauthorized reproduction, sale, performance, distribution, or display
Library of Congress
The agency charged with examine copyright applications, issuing registrations and maintaining copyright deposits
Intellectual Propert (IP)
The result or product of human creativity, including trademarks, copyrights, and inventions; generally, intellectual property consists of the fields of trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets
Industrial property
The term used in some foreign countries to refer to intellectual property, especially trademarks and patents
