Intellectual Property Rights: Copyright and Patent - Term Paper Example

Intellectual Property Rights: Copyright and Patent Intellectual property, abbreviated as IP, is a controversial phrase that refers to a number of different terms for which a set of control rights is accepted under a related field of law (Peterson 2). In intellectual property law, title-holders are granted exclusive rights to a variety of markets. These markets comprise of mechanical, literary, artistic and musical works. This paper will look into intellectual property rights focusing mainly on copyright protection and patent law. Ordinary intellectual property (IP) rights comprise of copyrights, patents, trademarks, industrial design rights as well as trade secrets in some jurisdictions. Even though, concepts and laws behind patents and copyright are not new, the phrase intellectual property is fairly recent. The name was initiated in the 19th century. The Statute of Monopolies 1623 plus the England Statute of Anne 1710 were, however, the originators of the patent and copyright law respectively (Nelson 23). IP laws play a vital role in the economic affluence of a nation plus they serve as an inspiring force for creative people to share their brilliance with the society. Like personal and real property rights guard one's ownership significance in tangible objects, such as automobiles and land, IP laws guard one's ownership interests in intangible objects. For instance, IP laws protect the music score for a Broadway play, the idea behind a creation and the name or emblem used to brand an artifact. If societies do not enforce these rights, then it would be hard for them to grow and prosper (Nelson 24). When most individuals think of intellectual property (IP) rights, copyrights and patents come to mind. These are the core set of intellectual property rights, and it rewards as well as protects the creative works of authors, inventors, owners plus vendors of goods and services in the market. Whereas the legal regulations that inspire each of these rights are diverse, they each share a common set of rules (All Law 1). An award of copyright or patent protection needs a delicate balance between the benefits of the author or inventor and the benefits of the society all together. This equilibrium is truly much like the tradeoff needed by zoning laws. Zoning laws work to guard the ownership interest that a land holder has with community’s interest in the limited use of the owner's land for community’s greater interest. Right of ways and public utility easements is an example of this equilibrium. Intellectual property (IP) rights also encourage a competitive market. They do so by supporting disclosure of originality through safeguarding the fruits of that originality for a period of time. Disclosure permits other people to build or improve upon previous innovations so that state of the art products continue to evolve and grow. Without the benefits offered by intellectual property (IP) protection, the market would not function as efficiently (Peterson 6). People should visualize what the globe would be look like if every contender had to constantly "reinvent the wheel" instead of being capable of refining and improving upon the works of other individuals. Intellectual property (IP) rights are, however, regional in nature and furthermore the conditions of their issuing and enforceability are regulated by the rules of each jurisdiction (Nelson 44). A United States patent can be only issued and enforced in line with the regulations of the United States. Also, a copyright can only be issued and enforced in Mexico, in line with the country’s rules and regulations, (Nelson 44). Even though, there is a need consistency and standardization nations have diverse approaches to intellectual property (IP) rights protection (Nelson 45). Differences in the process of acquiring IP rights account for a huge percentage of these diversities, instead of the differences in the substantive rights issued in each nation. The terms "patent" plus "trademark" are regularly used interchangeably (Peterson 9). A number of times, people hear that a patent is used to guard a logo and that a trademark is used to guard a creation, and vice versa. Even though, patents and trademarks may be connected by the same product, the two terms have exceedingly diverse meanings and talk about extremely different forms of intellectual property (IP) rights. They can hardly ever be used interchangeably, as the fundamental rights that each protects are quite diverse in nature. Generally, a patent is used to guard the intellectual property (IP) rights related with the design of a process or product. United States patents are granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and they can be enforced only in America as well as its possessions. A United States patent has no effect outside the United States’ boarders (All Law 1). A patent gives the patent holder the "exclusive right" to prevent people from exploiting, making, offering for sale or selling the process of making the product, or the product itself. It is vital to note that a patent does not give the patent holder the right to exploit the patented creation him or herself. The patent holder only has the right to prevent other people from exploiting his or her product. In other words, just because a person has a patent right on his or her product does not signify that he or she can exploit the product. Patent holders can also be blocked by earlier patent holders who have "exclusive rights" granted to them by their patent rights. This is a vital distinction (All Law 1). The following case will assist to explain the matter. Suppose that the product covered by a patent is a seat with four legs, a back plus it is a rocking chair. Under the patent, the person who invented the chair has exclusive rights to stop others from using, making, offering for sale or selling the patented rocking chair. Now assume that the rockers on a rocking chair are exclusive and are protected by a previous patent to another person. The rocker patent holder has exclusive rights under his or her patent to stop other individuals from using the patented rockers. Hence, if a second person receives a patent for his or her rocking chair, he or she will not be able to use, make, offer for sale or sell the chair without first getting permission from the original rocker patent holder. It is, however, not a guarantee that the rocker patent holder will give a permit so the second person will have to keep the rocking chair off the market (WTO 1). The period for a patent right is normally two decades from the filing day of the patent application. After that, the patent is terminated unless renewed. A copyright, in contrast, protects the expression of a concept. Unlike a patent which safeguards the idea itself, the copyright safeguards only the expression (Maskus 53). The concept of the chair with four stands discussed above can be guarded by a patent. The expression of that concept by creating pictures and words can be guarded by a copyright. To qualify for copyright protection, the work needs to be original to the author. In order to be original, the work: should have been independently created by the creator instead of being duplicated from another work and the product should meet the minimal degree of creativity. If these conditions are not met, the product will not meet the criteria of being original and it will not be entitled to copyright protection. Nevertheless, a work might still qualify for copyright protection even though it comprises of non-original objects (Anawalt 34). For instance, if a creator reorganizes non-original objects in an original manner, the product will be considered as original, and it will be eligible for copyright protection. In conclusion, there are stern rules in place to guard intellectual property rights. When IP rights are violated, it is essential to hire an intellectual property attorney. An experienced lawyer can assist a patent owner as well as a copyright holder to sue for damages that comprise lost royalties. If the patent holder wins the case, the individual who dishonored the intellectual property rights could be required to reimburse all of the legal fees plus compensate the patent holder for using his or her work without consent. Works Cited All Law. Intellectual Property Law: Patents, Trademarks and Copyright. NP, 2012. Web. Anawalt, Howard. Idea Rights: A Guide to Intellectual Property. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 2011. Print. Maskus, Keith. Intellectual Property Rights in the Global Economy. Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC: Peterson Institute, 2000. Print. Nelson, Richard. Intellectual Property Rights, Development, and Catch Up: An International Comparative Study. London: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print. Peterson, Thomas. How Intellectual Property Works. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2008. Print. World Trade Organization (WTO). What are intellectual property rights? NP, 2009. Web. Read More