Intellectual Property
Intellectual property, often known as IP, allows people to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. The owner of IP can control and be rewarded for its use, and this encourages further innovation and creativity to the benefit of us all.
In some cases IP gives rise to protection for ideas but in other areas there will have to be more elaboration of an idea before protection can arise. It will often not be possible to protect IP and gain IP rights (or IPRs) unless they have been applied for and granted, but some IP protection such as copyright arises automatically, without any registration, as soon as there is a record in some form of what has been created.
There are four main types of IP these are: -
Patents for inventions - new and improved products and processes that are capable of industrial application
Trade marks for brand identity - of goods and services allowing distinctions to be made between different traders
Designs for product appearance - of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials of the product itself or its ornamentation;
Copyright for material - literary and artistic material, music, films, sound recordings and broadcasts, including software and multimedia
However, IP is much broader than this extending to trade secrets, plant varieties, geographical indications, performers rights and so on.
English: Canoes passing under Vauxhall Bridge, Lon...
English: Lillie Road, Fulham, London. Photograph t...
English: Hammersmith Bridge, London. Photograph ta...To understand exactly what can be protected by IP, the four main areas of copyright, designs, patents and trademarks as well as other IP would need to be understood better. Often, more than one type of IP may apply to the same creation.
Why Software, its Documentation and Design are regarded as IP...