Intellectual Property

18 Pages 4427 Words

story of Patents
· Ownership of Patents
· Registration of Patents
· Criteria for Registering a Patent
· Switzer v. Marzall

3. Trademarks
· Trademark Rights
· Why Trademarks
· Ownership of Trademarks
· Registration of a Trademark
· Criteria For Registering a Trademark
· Walt Disney v. GoTo.com


Introduction
Intellectual property is an intangible form of property that refers to creations of the mind. It is protected by law because it is owned and used exclusively by a person or a firm. Intellectual property could be divided into two categories: Copyright, which refers to literary and artistic works; and Industrial property such as patents (inventions), trademarks, and industrial designs. The three basic and most common types, however, are copyrights, patents and trademarks. Intellectual property rights have always been an increasingly important issue, as it could be a very valuable property, for example, it could be a business’ main asset and capital. Each country has its own intellectual property legal system with different rules concerning the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The protection provided by intellectual property has used to be territorial; a copyright for example in one country is not enforceable in another. However With the ever increasing scope of commerce, technology and communications, there has been a need for international protection for intellectual property. There have been many conventions and treaties concerning that matter such as the Bern convention in 1971 and the Stockholm convention in 1976. There’s also an international U.N organization called the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an international organization committed to promoting the use and protection of intellectual property throughout the world.
With headquarters in Geneva, WIPO is one of the 16 specialized agencies of t...