Intellectual Property Overview

These flashcards cover key concepts related to intellectual property, including types of intellectual property, patents, trade secrets, copyrights, and trademarks.

Intellectual Property

Intangible personal property that is embodied in the goods or services a company offers, allowing the company to exclude others from economic benefit from their intellectual creation.

Patent

A grant from the U.S. government that gives an inventor exclusive rights to make, use, and sell an invention for 20 years from the date of application.

Utility Patents

Patents that protect processes, machines, manufactured items, and compositions of matter.

Design Patents

Patents that protect new, original, and ornamental designs for manufactured items.

Plant Patents

Patents that protect asexually reproduced and distinct plant varieties.

Trade Secret

Any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information that gives a business a competitive advantage.

Economic Espionage Act

Legislation that criminalizes the misappropriation of trade secrets to benefit a foreign power.

Copyright

Protection for the expression of ideas in a tangible form, lasting for the life of the author plus 70 years.

Public Domain

The state of a work once copyright has expired, allowing public access to the material.

Trademark

Any word, name, symbol, or device adopted by a manufacturer or merchant to identify and distinguish goods.

Dilution

A situation where a mark's value is weakened by the use of a similar mark, potentially leading to legal liability.

Fair Use Exception

Allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission, for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, or teaching.

Secondary Meaning

When a descriptive or generic term develops a specific association with a source in the minds of the public.

Doctrine of Equivalents

A legal doctrine that allows a patent to be infringed upon if two devices perform the same function in substantially the same way.

Copyright Ownership

Initially held by the author, who may assign or license rights to others.