Law Ch. 41: IP
Distinctive Trademarks: Strong to weak
1. Fanciful/ Arbitrary (completely unrelated to bus.) 2. Suggestive (indirectly hints at meaning) 3. Descriptive Marks- must be in use for a long time and have attached understanding to be valid
Trade-mark Disallowed
1. Generic trademarks 2. Names 3. Geographic Locations 4. Deceptive 5. Similar to an existing mark
Requirements for Patent
1. Novel 2. Nonobvious 3. Utility 4. Patentable Subject Matter (tangible)
Types of Marks
1. Trademarks (Nike Shoes) 2. Service Marks (Weight Watchers) 3. Certification Marks (Kelly Blue Book) 4. Collective Marks (Boy scouts of America)
Utility Patent
94% of patents filed. Protect the function of an item and last for 20 from the date of filing
Trade Secrets
A formula, device, process, method, or compilation of information that, when used in business, gives the owner an advantage over competition -criminal offense to steal these
Patent Infringement
A patent holder has the exclusive right to make, use, or sell the patented invention during the term of patent
Trademark
Any combination of words and symbols that a business uses to identify its products or ser- vices and distinguish them from others
First Sale Doctrine
Essential to commerce: The first sale doctrine permits a person who owns a lawfully made copy of a copyrighted work to sell or otherwise dispose of the copy.
Patents
Give the inventor the right to prevent others from making, using, or selling their inventions for a limited time.
Lanham Act
Governs federal trademarks
Living Organisms
May be patented if they are different than anything found in nature and result from human ingenuity "anything under the sun that is made by man"
R symbol
May only be used once the trademark has been registered... but something is a trademark once it has been used in trade
Fair Use Doctrine
Permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission of the author for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, or research
Design Patent
Protects the appearance, not the function, of an item
When is an item Copyright?
The second that work is written down, it is protected. bing, bang, boom
Term of a copyright
a copyright is valid until 70 years after the death of the author, or, in the case of works owned by a corporation, for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.
Copyright
gives its creator the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, and perform his original work for a limited time -concerned with the presentation of the ideas, not the idea itself -cannot be utility
Plant Patents
new Plants are protected- provided the inventor can graft the plant asexually, not plant it