← PATENTS →
A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a government to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of the invention. Patents are rights related to new inventions. This right is conferred on persons who invent any new machine, process, article of manufacture or composition of matter, biological discoveries, etc. In general, the invention must be novel and nonobvious. The person who receives a patent for his invention has an exclusive right to legally stop others from making, using, selling, or distributing the patented invention without permission. Generally, the time limit of a patent is 20 years from the date of filing the application.
← TRADEMARK →
A trademark is typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements. However, registration is not required. The owner of a common law trademark may also file suit, but an unregistered mark may be protectable only within the geographical area within which it has been used or in geographical areas into which it may be reasonably expected to expand. For example, you can identify the products of Nike Inc., through their logo, which is embossed on their products. Once registered, trademarks are protected legally and the owners can sue persons who use their trademarks.
← COPYRIGHTS →
Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. In most jurisdictions copyright arises upon fixation and does not need to be registered. Copyright owners have the exclusive statutory right to exercise control over copying and other exploitation of the works for a specific period of time, after which the work is said to enter the public domain. Uses covered under limitations and exceptions to copyright, such as fair use, do not require permission from the copyright owner. All other uses require permission.
Copyright owners can license or permanently transfer or assign their exclusive rights to others. As time lapses, the work can be republished or reproduced by others. Usually, the time span of a copyright extends through the entire life of the owner and lasts up to a period of about 50 to100 years after death. In case of anonymous works, the right lasts for 95 years after publication or 120 years after the creation.
← Industrial Design Rights →
An industrial design right is an intellectual property right that protects the visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian.
An industrial design consists of the creation of a shape, configuration or composition of pattern or color, or combination of pattern and color in three dimensional form containing aesthetic value.
An industrial design can be a two- or threedimensional pattern used to produce a product, industrial commodity or handicraft.
← Geographical Indication →
Geographical Indication (GI) signifies to the name or sign, used in reference to the products which are corresponding to the particular geographical area or somewhat related to the origin like town, region or nation. Thus GI grants the rights to its holder which acts as the certification mark and shows that the specified product consists of the some qualities and is enjoying good reputation due to its origin from the specified geographical location.
The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement has defined the 'geographical indications rights' as the exclusionary rights for the indicator which identify the goods originated within the member nations territories, or area or region of that territory, where the reputation or other attributes of the goods is essentially related to the geographic origin of the place. Geographical indications are the part of the intellectual property law therefore like any other law the regulation and govern conditions of GI also varies from one country to another as high differences have been found out in the use of generic terms across the world. Such case is prominent for food and beverage which more commonly use the geographic terms.
Geographical Indications are aimed towards identifying the source of the product and is considered as the valuable business tool.