Intellectual Property Rights

Definition: Intellectual property (IP) refers to property that results from intellectual creative processes.
Main Categories of Intellectual Property Protections:
- Trademarks
- Copyrights
- Patents

Definition: A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design affixed to goods or services for market identification.
Expanded Scope:
- Can protect nicknames, color combinations, and overall product appearances.
- Protection typically associated with specific product types (e.g., "Apple" for electronics, not furniture).
Types of Trademarks:
- Arbitrary: Common words unrelated to the product.
- Fanciful: Made-up words.
- Suggestive: Names that suggest characteristics of the product.
Limited Protection:
- Descriptive terms, geographic terms, and personal names generally do not get protection unless they acquire secondary meaning (where public associates the term with a specific product/service).

Legal Basis: Protection began under common law and migrated to statutory law, which addresses infringement and dilution.
Trademark Infringement:
- The plaintiff must show the defendant used a trademark (exact or substantially similar) in a confusing manner regarding the origin of goods/services.
- Registration is not required but creates a presumption of the mark's validity.
Trademark Dilution:
- Requires the plaintiff to show:
- Ownership of a famous mark.
- Defendant's use of a similar mark dilutes the original mark's value or reputation.
- Similarity must create an association that dilutes the mark, but does not need to be identical.

Definition: Licenses are contracts that allow the licensee (user) permission from the licensor (trademark holder) to use the trademark for specified purposes.

Definition: A patent is a government grant that gives inventors exclusive rights to make, use, or sell their inventions for a designated period (typically 20 years).
Types of Patents:
- Utility Patents: Cover new and useful products, processes, or any useful improvements.
- Design Patents: Focus on the ornamental design of a product (protection lasts for 14 years).
- Plant Patents: Cover new species of plants.
Inventor Requirements: Must show the invention is novel, useful, and non-obvious.
Patent Infringement: Any unauthorized making, using, or selling of a patented invention constitutes infringement.

Definition: Copyright is a property right granted to the author/creator of literary and artistic works, governed by the Copyright Act.
Eligible Works: Copyright protects original works fixed in a tangible medium, including:
- Literary Works: Books, articles, ads, manuals, etc.
- Musical Works: Music and lyrics (including jingles).
- Dramatic Works: Plays and their music.
- Choreographic Works: Dance forms.
- Artworks: Cartoons, paintings, sculptures, etc.
- Audiovisual Works: Movies, videos, etc.
- Sound Recordings
- Architectural Works
- Computer Software
What Cannot Be Copyrighted: Underlying ideas or themes.
Duration of Copyright: Works created after January 1, 1978 are protected for the life of the author plus 70 years; for a publishing house, 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever comes first.

Rights Protected: Copyright covers reproduction, derivative works, distribution, and public display/performance of the work.
Infringement: Occurs when protected work is copied or reproduced.
Exceptions to Infringement:
- Fair Use Doctrine: Allows limited use of copyrighted works without infringement for purposes like criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. Factors include:
- Purpose and Character: Commercial vs. nonprofit educational use.
- Nature of Work: The type of copyrighted work.
- Amount Used: Proportion of the work used.
- Effect on Market: The impact on the market for the original work.
- First Sale Doctrine: After the first sale of a copyrighted item, the owner can sell or dispose of it freely without violating copyright.

Hierarchy of Easiness to Obtain: Copyrights are easier to obtain, trademarks are moderate, and patents are the most difficult to secure.
Coexistence: A single product may be protected by copyrights, trademarks, and patents simultaneously; they are not mutually exclusive.
Consideration for Protection: The type of IP protection sought depends on the specific interests of the individual or business.

Definition: Trade secrets include ideas, processes, and information that cannot be legally protected under copyright, trademark, or patent but still hold commercial value.
Examples: Customer lists, research and development plans.
Liability for Disclosure: Unauthorized disclosure or use of trade secrets can lead to legal liability if:
- Acquired by improper means.
- Constitutes a breach of a duty (e.g., non-disclosure agreements).

Question 1: A plaintiff must have registered their trademark in order to protect it against trademark infringement.
- True / False
Question 2: Laura wrote a novel published in 1984 and died in 2003. Bob Barnes Productions, Inc. creates a TV show based on her novel in 2075. Laura's heirs sue for copyright infringement. Will they succeed?
- No, because Laura's copyright only protects the novel, not derivative works.
- Yes, because the copyright protects both the novel and derivative works.
- No, because the copyright has expired and is public domain.
- Yes, because Laura's copyright never expires.
Question 3: An employee from Company B steals Company A’s customer list and uses it to target their customers. On what basis can Company A sue?
- Copyright infringement
- Patent infringement
- Disclosure of trade secrets
- Disclosure of private information