Intellectual Property Rights - Little Gyan

Today I will throw some light on Intellectual property rights having main focus on patents.I have divided my speech in 3 parts,First I will talk about Intellectual properties and IP rights giving brief history on its origin.Then I will elaborate the “Patent process”And at last I will try to clarify common myth and elaborate some Frequently Asked Question.
(1)Intellectual property (IP) is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which property rights are recognized--and the corresponding fields of law.Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.
Common types of intellectual properties include Trademarks, Copyrights, Industrial design rights and patents.
Trade Marks is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source and it distinguish its products or services from those of other entities? (Mac-Donald)-Authenticity, recognizable The trademarks can last indefinitely as long as they are used in commerce.
Copy Rights is the set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. These rights can be licensed, transferred and/or assigned. Copyright lasts for a certain time period after which the work is said to enter into the public domain in general 50 to 100 years after its creator’s death. Example Statue of liberty- Which got a copy right and under which it was illegal to sell the copies or replica of Statue of liberty for a certain time period, only government store was allowed to sell it.
Industrial Design rights: or Design patent is a patent granted on the ornamental-non functional design of an item. For example Coca cola bottle. Design patents can be invalidated if the design has practical utility (e.g. the shape of a gear). Design patents are valid for 14 years from the date of issue. And the best part there are no maintenance fees.
And Now Patent: Also called Utility patent in some countries like USA protects the functionality of a given item.
If we peep into the history than we find-- In 500 BC, in the Greek city of Sybaris (located in what is now southern Italy), "encouragement was held out to all who should discover any new refinement in luxury, the profits arising from which were secured to the inventor by patent for the space of a year."But Patents in the modern sense originated in 1474, when the Republic of Venice enacted a decree that new and inventive devices, once put into practice, had to be communicated to the Republic to obtain the right to prevent others from using them.
(2)A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state (national government) to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention. The exclusive right granted to a patentee in most countries is the right to prevent others from making, using, selling, or distributing the patented invention without permission.So patent does not automatically entitle the owner to use an invention, but only provides a right to prohibit the others from using the patented invention.People who work in a business organization, patents on their inventions belong to their employer as part of their work contract, but they are named as an inventor and get some royalties or rewards from the employer.Some facts about the patnet:ü A patent has time limited duration: maximum 20 years after filing, subject to payment of annual fees. And in case of non payment of fees patent becomes dead and then anyone can copy it.ü A patent is geographically limited: one patent for one country. There is no such things called international or multinational patent but one can extend patent into different countries which is quite depends upon the business needs.ü For obtaining a granted patent, an invention must fulfill patentability conditions, which are examined by Patent Offices like. - Novelty: Idea should be new and original. There should not be any prior art available on the invention. Prior-Art also known as state of art- something already available to the public.If inventor or assignee knows about any similar prior arts than he must disclose those at the time patent filling.- Inventive step: Inventions should not be obvious means a Person skilled in the Art, who knew the complete State of the Art should not arrive at the same solution. - Industrial application: It should solve some technical problem and be usable and feasible in any kind of industries.         There is 2 phases in a patent life: 1st obtaining the patent and 2nd using the right.·      For Obtaining the patent, first we need too   Fill the patent application which involves lot of legal jargons so it is good to have patent attorneys doing the work along with the inventor. Then o   Examination made by patent offices and decision on granting and refusing the patent.·      Using the righto   When some one infringes existing patents with in its validity period. And it seems here organizations make more money. So it is quite important to check existing prior art and its’ conditions before finalizing any design.Note: it is really not difficult to find your countries patent office, if you just type your country  name + patent office in Google.
(3)Now there are some common FAQ:**Like what can be patented:**There are some guidelines as invention should be original, non obvious and should have some industrial application. But I can’t give any definite answers on this as we always see exceptions.Better I will throw some light on what may not be patented: Abstract ideas, mental processes, laws of nature and physical phenomenaFor example, one cannot patent a new mineral, insect or plant discovered or found in the wild. Likewise, Einstein could not patent "E=mc2" and Newton could not have patented the law of gravity. And now the most important question- **What is the purpose behind the patent law?**It is to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries hence also to promote creativity by rewarding the inventor with a limited monopoly on using, making, and selling his inventions. And in exchange an inventor agrees to make public her invention. Once issued, patents become public record and Inventors are also required in the patent application to disclose the "best mode" for making or using the patented invention hence others start thinking beyond instead of copying earlier inventions.