Unit 10.

IP
1) Electric Light; telephone; automobile; radio & TV; vaccination; computer; airplane
The most impactful inventions of our time. In a way they changed the world
+ Alexander Fleming developed the drug penicillin, which fights a huge number of bacterial
infections in humans without harming the humans themselves.

2) In some cases, more than one person will claim ownership of an idea or piece of work. If that
happens, it will be necessary to determine through documentation and other proof who is the true
owner of the IP.
How Intellectual Property Ownership Is Determined
Generally speaking, the creator or originator of an idea, work, or novel invention is presumed to
own the copyright to their creations (without any application). However, if the work was created
as a part of a work-made-for-hire agreement, or in an employer-employee agreement, the
copyright belongs to the employer.

3) An invention may be reduced to practice in one of two ways: the invention can be actually
reduced to practice by building a working invention, or the invention can be constructively
reduced to practice by describing it well enough in a patent application such that a person of skill
in that field can make it.
Reduction to practice may be either actual (the invention is actually carried out and is found to
work for its intended purpose) or constructive (a patent application having a sufficient
disclosure1 is filed).

5) What is a copyright?
 A copyright provides the holder of creative work or artistic productions the exclusive
rights to copy and distribute those works. Copyrights cover many works including computer
programs, publications, paintings and books. The copyright holder has to grant permission before
anyone may copy or distribute his or her work.
 A piece of work is considered copyrighted upon creation. Once it is expressed through
any medium, it is copyrighted. Creators of this material may register the copyright, but it is not
required for the copyright to be valid. Copyright holders are allowed to assign their rights to
others if he or she chooses to do so in order for that product or idea to be licensed or used.
 Copyright does NOT protect inventions, discoveries, or ideas. Instead, copyright law
protects the way they are expressed.

What is a patent?
A patent is granted by a government body (the United States Patent and Trademark Office). It is
given to a patent holder, with the right to exclude others for a certain period of time, from using,
manufacturing, making or selling an invention in the United States and surrounding territories.
(exclude others from exploiting such inventions.)
 A patent is a grant of a property right to an inventor of a novel, non-obvious, and useful
invention by a government body.
At this point, if an employee invents a product while on the job or for the purpose of their
employer, the employer will own the rights to a patent if one follows. However, the employee

1
Sufficiency of disclosure or enablement is a patent law requirement that a patent application disclose
a claimed invention in sufficient detail so that the person skilled in the art could carry out that claimed
invention. The requirement is fundamental to patent law: a monopoly is granted for a given period of time in
exchange for a disclosure to the public how to make or practice the invention.
who invented the product could be entitled to compensation, only if the invention, patent, or a
combination is considered an outstanding benefit for the employer.
 A patent provides, generally, 20 years of protection from the date of application.
 To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public
in a patent application.

Patent Ownership
Like a copyright, the creator or originator of an idea, work, or novel invention is presumed to
own the patent to their creations. In the United States, an inventor or multiple inventors must
apply for a patent.

What are Trade Marks?

- a symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or
product.
The initial trade mark owner will typically be the company that uses the mark first, as long it has
not been registered already.

4) The registered trademark symbol (®) denotes that the good in question is registered in that
country. This offers the highest level of protection that a registered trademark receives. It lets
people know that this is a trusted, registered product and can discourage competitors from
infringing on the asset you have registered. In the simplest form, it functions as a green light for
consumers who know they can trust that it’s the product they’re looking for and serves as a red
light for competitors looking to capitalize off of your brand through infringement.
Registered Trademark (®) – after registration is approved
You are not allowed to use the circled R before you receive the registration.
Usually, using ® means that your trademark is registered in a country. In 99% of countries, this
symbol stands for word REGISTERED, when your trademark is 100% officially registered. Not
pending, not published, not applied for, but registered! Also, this symbol is known as the rights
reserved symbol or all rights reserved.

A trademark symbol (™), is a mark that represents goods, like clothing or sunglasses. This
symbol indicates that you are claiming rights within that mark and will potentially deter others
from using it.
The ™ symbol is to be used when claiming rights to a good without a trademark registration.
This symbol is used to inform others that you think that the word is your trademark. In some
countries, this will give you common law rights. Good examples are the USA, UK, New
Zealand, Australia, Canada and some other countries.
However, it does not mean that the mark is officially protected and that you can sue anyone for
misusing your trademark in this case.

© (the Copyright symbol)

is the symbol used in copyright notices for works other than sound recordings.
Do I have to use the C symbol © to get copyright protection?
Nope, you do not have to. It was required several decades ago, but according to the new
Copyright Rules the protection is granted automatically. How cool is that? You created anything
and once it is created it’s your property for your entire life + 70 years - absolutely free. Even a
photo of your dog you took with your new iPhone X.
If I don’t use the © symbol will I lose my copyright protection?
No, you won’t. Using C symbol is not obligatory to claim the copyright protection.
If you are going to distribute your work to the public, you should use the copyright symbol to let
others know that the work is protected. In general, a copyright symbol is a reminder to the world
at large that copyright exists in the work.

6) Intellectual property for software is computer code or software protected by law under either a
copyright, trademark, trade secret, or software patent.
Software patents are extremely valuable for vendors because they can protect aspects of their
product that other intellectual property laws cannot. However, patents can be difficult to obtain
and the application process can drag out considerably. Furthermore, different countries have
different approaches to the patentability of software.
In contrast to a patent, which protects the idea or concept of an invention, copyright protects the
specific expression of that idea. It gives the owner the exclusive right to copy, modify, and
distribute or sell those copies or modifications of the property to the public.
Software copyright could cover the specific code used in the program or elements in the user
interface. Copyright is automatically obtained by the creation of the original work — unlike with
patents, there’s no need to go through an application process. Copyright is usually applicable for
the duration of the copyright owner’s life plus 50 years, or for 75 years from publication in the
case where the software was created by the employee of a company. So practically speaking, if
someone in your company comes up with a unique code for software that functions a certain
way, that code is automatically protected under copyright law.
The software itself — the actual code — is copyrighted intellectual property, and it might also be
considered a trade secret. The person or company who created it doesn’t need to register for a
patent or trademark for its unauthorized use to be considered illegal. The concept of the software
might also be protected by patent law if the creator has registered for a patent.

7) Intellectual property protection is critical to fostering innovation. Without protection of ideas,

businesses and individuals would not reap the full benefits of their inventions and would focus
less on research and development.