Intellectual Property Rights - Essay Example

? Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual property is a broad and complex term that generally refers to specific intangible creations of an individual’s mind. Intellectual property law mainly protects the rights on intangible assets such as music, literature, art, discoveries and inventions, phrases, symbols, and designs. In some jurisdictions, copyright, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and industrial design rights are also considered as common intellectual properties. The extent of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights largely varies from country to country. Both common law and statute play a significant role in the IP law relating to the creation and protection of intellectual property. Since trademarks, patents, and copyrights are under private ownership for a restricted period of time, specific statues are concerned with the creation and serving of such concepts. US Constitution and Congressional legislature is the major institution responsible for the governance of copyrights and patents whereas state and federal laws are concerned with trademarks and unfair competition disputes. Since patent law is a very complicated and broad one, several adjustments are made to patent law according the nature of breach of contract. 2. In Japan, works created by an individual under his own name or a known pseudonym are legally protected for fifty years after the individual’s death. “Works authored anonymously or under an unknown pseudonym, as well as works authored by corporations, where the individual author or authors are unknown, are protected for fifty years following publication” (“Japanese copyright law”). 3. According to the terms of the current US copyright law that came into force on 1st January 1978, a creation is protected from the moment it is “fixed in permanent form”. Hence, as soon as an idea is expressed in permanent form like a piece of writing, music, or webpage, it is protected by copyright laws. In other words, even unpublished works are protected if they have met all required copyright criteria. 4. No, it is not mandatory to register with the governmental authority in order to take the copyright of a work. 5. US copyright law protects a creation from the moment it is “fixed in a permanent form”. According to the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) of 1998, copyright would last for the life of the author plus 70 years under normal case while the copyright may last for 95 years after publication or 120 years after creation in the case of corporate authorship works. Hence, if the author dies tonight after he created some music or sculpture in the morning, the copyright for his work will expire after 70 years. 6. When an individual works for a software company, he may own the software he created and it will be protected by copyright even if he has not formed a written agreement with the company. In the absence of a written agreement, creations of a salaried individual belong to his employer’s property. In order to apply for a software patent, it is necessary to provide the current state of the art, usefulness of the invention, software invention steps, and related flow diagrams and system diagrams. 7. An individual or group of individuals who have created a unique, original, and creative work of expression is given copyright. ‘Gone With The Wind’ (the book and film) and ‘System of A Down’ are some of the examples of copyright works. In addition, literary works, musical works, dramatic works, pantomimes and choreographic works, and computer databases are some other examples that qualify for copyright protection. Likewise, the right to show the name of the performer, right to control the reproduction of transmitted programs, and the right to control the broadcasting of live performances represent the examples of neighboring rights. 8. Secondary copyright deals with the manufacture and distribution of infringing copies. For instance, the trader who unintentionally sells or stores the infringed copies may be liable for secondary copyright infringement. Secondary copyright is an implied right that goes along with primary copyright. In other words, an intellectual property which is protected by copyright gets legal protection from secondary copyrights also. 9. A person cannot legally sell the software or CD to others without permission of the copyright holder. It is obvious that a software or CD is an intellectual property as it is “fixed in permanent form” and thus it gives certain rights to the creator. As Bagley and Dauchy comment, the most fascinating feature of a protected intellectual property is that the owner may use it exclusively when the third parties cannot use this property lawfully without the creator’s authorization (89). 10. Cinema complexes cannot legally sell the movie without the permission from the film company. The film company is the copyright holder of a movie and it only permits cinema complexes to show the movie. In other words, selling decision on the movie is left to the option of the film company. 11. One of the major differences between US patent law and other countries’ patent law is that the US patent law allows a one year “grace period” which considers the time duration between invention disclosed in a printed publication and a patent application is filed. However, most of other countries practice a rule called “absolute novelty” which states that patent application will be barred if there is any pubic disclosure of the invention at any time before the priority date of patent application in that country (Cortina, Ward & Smith). 12. The extent of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights largely varies from country to country. Hence, time duration and terms of protection would be different for different countries. As a result, if an individual obtains patent for his invention from Japan Patent Office, this patent may not be protected in other countries’ patent offices. 13. While filing foreign patent applications, it is essential to consider the economic state of the target country. Generally, developed economies such as Canada and many of the European countries seem to be the best choice to file foreign patent applications. In addition, the target country’s ability to manufacture the invention must also be considered. Many of the scholars are of the opinion that the inventor must also consider the major industries in the country to which the foreign patent application is filed. It is observed that some countries like Russia and China do not give much emphasis on the enforcement of patent holders’ rights if there arise any issue related to law infringement. Hence, an inventor must take into account how well a country enforces patent rights while dealing with foreign patent filings. 14. Coca Cola has not yet taken a patent on its ingredients in order to ensure that its secret formula remains undisclosed. When a person or company does not want to apply his/its technology, he/it must be careful to keep the technology undisclosed. In order to effectively safeguard the technology, it should not be revealed to any person other than the responsible officials. 15. The Microsoft has expressed its strong disagreement towards IBM’s efforts to block ISO fast track approval of Office Open XML (OOXML). “OOXML is a document format devised by Microsoft for its office software suite.” (Paul). While critically analyzing technical and intellectual property issues, it seems that Microsoft’s standards are restrictive and hence flaw. Their standards are not properly aligned with persisting standards or these standards are conductive to broad third party support. Evidently, it would be better for the Microsoft to adopt ODF rather than splitting the office document space with its own alternative. In short, Microsoft’s strategy regarding IBM seems to be meaningless; and it does not come under the issue of IP rights infringement. Works Cited Bagley, Constance. E and Dauchy, Craig. E. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law. USA: Thomson West, 2008. Print. Cortina, Jos, Ward and Smith, P. A. Absolute novelty is not always absolute. Wral Techwire. May 2008. Web 30 July 2011 Japanese copyright law. World Law Forums. May 2011. Web 30 July 2011 Paul, Ryan. IBM responds to Microsoft: OOXML is “technically inferior”. Ars Techica. 2009. Web 30 July 2011 Read More