What Intellectual Property Is - Essay Example

?Presented by Intellectual property Introduction Intellectual property is the right recognized by law to protect an individual’s intellect. When someone comes up with an idea, a new invention or an expression, the law protects other people from making use of such ideas without permission from the owner. Copyright, trademark, and patent are the three most recognized forms of intellectual property (Schwabach 55-60). Since the invention of internet, communication between individuals improved through the cyber space. This step improved the mode of doing things, but it created an avenue for people to misuse the intellectual property that led to the introduction and implementation of cyber law to regulate and govern these activities (Kumar 111). Background of the research Arguments for intellectual property have taken many forms because the high rate of technological advancement makes people introduce new ways of misconduct. Individual personality is the extension of intellectual property because it introduces social progress and innovation incentives. Even justification of rights is related to merit and labor, the government should take a step forward to prevent people’s intellectual property. On the other hand, some organizations want the government to abolish the issue of intellectual property because it makes some big companies take advantage of emerging industries. Most people argue that the intellectual works on the basis of restricted access, but intellectual works are consumed by their use and many people are capable of using them concurrently. Intellectual property aims at protecting other people’s properties through introducing rules and regulations related to internet and technology. Organizations store crucial information that enable them carry out their business plans without crashing into one another’s plans. Violation of intellectual property rules leads to some industries having similar trademarks, or patents. In addition, economists have introduced economies of intellectual property that provides the basic requirements for an industry enter into the world of economies today (Lemley 1031). Types of intellectual property Intellectual property covers entrepreneurs in all categories from the small scale to large scale to assist in the protection of valuable assets of a company like the company logo, advertising instruments, list of consumers, and the unique ways of carrying out its activities (Bagley and Dauchy 23-52). The government has puts up policies to help in the protection of the intellectual property which every entrepreneur must follow. Copyrights Copyright forms the most crucial type of intellectual property that has greatly affected many industries, including software producing companies, music industries, multimedia, and entertainment sectors. Copyrights help in protecting the original expression of someone or an organization fixed in a tangible form. One of the commonest methods of copyright protection is through displaying a copyright notice on the product to make the user know the good protection by the copyright law, gives the producer, and the first time of publication. Copyright also gives the owner the right to get economic advantages from the product and the right to prevent duplication and selling of the work. Every person has the right over the ideas created and holds the responsibility to get all the benefits, which come because of that achievement and have the mandate to dictate who uses the idea for business purposes. The copyright covers all areas including computer programs and electronic databases. Trademarks Trademarks assist business industries in improving their image towards attracting more customers by increasing the quality of products and services offered. Trademark makes products and services more reliable, brings about innovations, and improves business performance. Good examples of well known trademarks globally include NIKE, AON, Mercedes-Benz, and Intel Inside. Protecting intellectual property in terms of trademarks should not be approached in easier ways. Trademarks usually carry information, which reflects at the consumer’s mind creating temptations to buy the product. Many upcoming companies have tried to come up with similar trademarks in order to market their products, and the state government should provide for penalties to any business using other people’s trademark. . For example, Sony Company producing quality electronics with the “SONY” Trademark on the gadget. Another company comes up with the name resembling that of the Sony Company “SQNY”. A buyer who is not familiar with the original Trademarks ends up purchasing the wrong product because such fake trademarks come with cheaper products (Bagley and Dauchy 87-113). Trade Secret Protection The trade secret protection law helps in the protection of the business’s secrets concerning the strategies used in order to compete in the market. The strategies take different forms including, proper marketing plans, good financial statements, and good formulas on how to sell certain products, and good agreements with the good suppliers, among others. Maintaining these secrets prevent the competitors from gaining knowledge on the business key plans which when realized ends up flattening the whole enterprise. In most cases, the trade secret disputes arise because of an employee leaving a certain company to join another company of the same nature and take the ideas to the new employer. Trade secret is any information involving the strategies used by the business to gain competitive advantage. In order to avoid the leakage of the trade secrets the company writes a trade secret protection policy that informs the employees on ways to identify and protect the company secrets, and secondly assists in making managerial decisions that involve the revelation of the secrets to others (Bagley and Dauchy 123-134). Patents Patent provides protection on the new products, ideas and work processes in a business and every entrepreneur should be aware of the patent law and how to apply it. Patents allow young businesses, new in the market, to get protection over their newly introduced products in the market and keeps off the larger businesses from intervening through the creation of legal monopoly. Patents are of different types depending on the subject matter in which they are based on. The utility patents cover the machines used in the manufacture of automobiles or a process that involves making materials used in production. The second type is the design patent used in protection of ornaments through the simulation of their shapes and appearances on the computer programs (Bagley and Dauchy 136-140). Conclusion The maintenance of the intellectual property rules and regulations is an important step that a government should take to ensure that its properties have good security and the organizations gain competitive advantages. The government has the responsibility to ensure that acquiring of these rights takes the shortest time possible to prevent other countries and individuals from stealing others’ ideas. The citizens should ensure that they use those products with defined intellectual rights to help in the protection of their fellow inventions. Works cited Bagley, E. C. & Dauchy, E. C. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business law. United States of America. 4th Ed. 2012. Kumar, P. A. Cyber Law. Bangalore: Anupa P Kumar. 2009. Lemley, Mark. A., Property, Intellectual Property, and Free Riding. Texas Law Review, Vol. 83, 2005.  Read More