FIN 240 Chapter 8: Intellectual Property

Vocabulary terms, definitions, and distinguishing examples covering Chapter 8 Intellectual Property concepts from the FIN 240 lecture notes.

Intellectual property

Legally protected intangible creations and identifiers; includes trademarks, copyright, patents, and trade secrets.

Trademark

A word, symbol, design, or other identifier distinguishing the source of goods or services, representing brand identity rather than the invention itself.

Arbitrary trademark

An existing word used for unrelated goods or services, such as APPLE for computers.

Generic term

A common name for the category of goods or services; usually not protectable as a trademark for those goods.

Descriptive mark

A mark describing a characteristic of goods or services; may need acquired distinctiveness for protection.

Suggestive mark

A mark requiring imagination to connect it to the goods or services; generally inherently distinctive.

Fanciful mark

An invented word used as a mark; typically has strong inherent distinctiveness.

Trademark infringement

Unauthorized use likely to cause relevant consumer confusion, with a focus on source confusion.

Copyright

Protection for original fixed works of authorship, which protects expression rather than an abstract idea.

Fair use

A copyright limitation permitting certain uses based on a multifactor test; not all educational use is automatically fair.

Patent

Government-granted rights for qualifying inventions; the standard utility patent term is generally $20$ years from filing.

Trade secret

Information deriving economic value from secrecy and subject to reasonable secrecy efforts; protection can persist while secrecy lasts.

DMCA

Digital Millennium Copyright Act; includes rules addressing digital infringement and circumvention relating to copyright, not trademark.

Berne Convention

An international treaty framework for copyright protection, distinct from patent treaties.