Knowledge
Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property, or IP, involves the creation of the mind, an idea that has been put into a tangible form. IP is an asset that, if used and protected wisely, can have an enormous impact on a company's growth and success. It is thus of great importance to spot possible IP in business and to protect and market goods and/or services protected by IP in a sensible manner, enabling customers to identify, not only the said company but also quality or specific characteristics such as excellent services, reasonable price etc.
Different types of intellectual property
Trademarks
Signs used to identify goods and services
Patents
Technical inventions, such as devices and methods
Designs
The appearance of a product or part of a product, including its shape, colours and patterns
Municipal emblems
Symbols identifying municipalities
Geographical indications
Agricultural products produced in specific regions or according to a particular tradition
Copyright
Works protected by copyright include literature, music, visual art, photographs and computer code
Trade secrets
Various types of information that are valuable to businesses and essential to keep confidential
Domain names
Domain names can be protected as intellectual property
Protection of IP = Intellectual Property Rights – IPRIn order to become an asset, IP has to be publicly visible and protected in one way or another. By possessing IPR, an exclusive right is provided to use it or to forbid the use of others. This exclusive right is a proprietary right which may be utilized like a house or a car. It depends on whether mere use of an IP is sufficient to create rights or if it is necessary to obtain registration. Finally, it must be borne in mind that many different rights may be contained in one and the same product.