Some of the most important things to know about intellectual property
If you are running a business in this digital world, then it becomes essential to know about intellectual property rights. This becomes paramount for those businesses that keep on coming up with new inventions, developments, and creation. In a world where evil-minded people are always ready to take advantage of your carelessness, protecting what you have created is necessary, and this is where intellectual property rights come into the picture.
The intellectual property right is protected by law through copyrights, trademarks, and patents, and it allows the creator to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they have invented. The main objective of IP is to let creativity and innovation flourish in the best possible way while giving the right that the creator deserves.
Let’s go through some of the most important things that you should know about intellectual property.
There are two types of IP
There are two categories in which Intellectual Property is divided. The first one requires proper registration like registered design, patents, trademarks, and domain names, while the second one doesn’t require any registration like common law trademarks, copyrights, unregistered design right, etc. You should know that these two types of intellectual property rights are directed towards protecting different types of creations. But in many cases, the terms from both types of IP are used interchangeably. If you want to use IP in the best interest, then you should know the fundamental difference between these types of intellectual property rights.
Due diligence/branding
While identifying intellectual property rights that currently apply to your firm or will apply to your firm, you must know that even if a company name or domain name might be available, it doesn’t mean that you can use that particular company name or domain during your business. According to the basic intellectual property rights, clearing a trademark for use and registration should always be the first point of call if you are going to consider a completely new branding exercise. This is one of the important aspects of intellectual property rights that every business should know about.
The owner
It is not always necessary that the creator is the owner of the creation. It might sound tricky, but let us understand this important aspect of international intellectual property law with an example. If you have hired a developer that is developing codes for your startup, then you can ask them to sign a document stating the IP rights of the code belongs to you rather than the developer. So, this means that IP rights can be easily transferred from one party to another through a legal binding document. In most of the cases, even the founder of the company gets the IP right registered on the name of the company instead of themselves to avoid any conflict in the future.
IP rights don’t last forever
You should know that the general term of US patent is 20 years from the date a license has been filed officially. But when it comes to trademark, then it can last as long as the mark is used for precisely and in connection with the services and goods. The term of copyright is generally set by statute, and it mostly depends on the circumstances under which the work was done.
Protecting what you have created is necessary as a business owner, and this is why understanding intellectual property rights becomes paramount for you. By understanding the international intellectual property law, you can easily protect what you own.
