3 minute read
Protect your ideas
Intellectual property refers to ideas and innovations that are created by individuals. These are very important and have to be protected at all costs as without their protection, there would be no scope for further research and expense on development as people will start using other’s ideas and kill the basic feeling or the first step of any basic product or service in the market, i.e., Innovation. Intellectual property is a right of any individual just like any other asset or property they have, the only tricky part is that intellectual property is the sole product of one's mind and innovation, and as an idea or a thought can be stolen by anyone and used for their benefit, there are a lot of rights in place to maintain the safety of intellectual properties. These rights not only help individuals keep their intellectual property safe but also provide them with various ways in which they can use their intellectual property to expand their business without having to worry about the concept being copied or stolen. These rights also provide one with ways to start a chain of their business with having complete control and authority from a single place of their choice, thus leading to the best use of these intellectual property rights.
Inception, no more a sci-fi fantasy!
There are different types of secret is either a proprietary system, formula, strategy, or any other information which is confidential and the reason for the effectiveness and competitiveness of a business. These are very important as the whole survival and competitive edge of a company is dependent on the secrecy of their trade secret as one small leak and all the years of research and development go down in the drain. Some examples of a trade secret are Coca-Cola, Formula one racing teams, etc.
Intellectual property rights in place to best help the induvial keep their valuable and unique ideas and use them to their wishes and their choice of places. The first type of intellectual property right is Patent. Patents are the most common intellectual property rights which grant the owner to prevent its use without their permission and also grant them the right to commercialize their patent or grant a license to any third party. Patents are of three types, utility, plant, and design, thus covering almost all aspects of intellectual property, providing the innovators with a foolproof safety net for their intellectual property. Trademark is another type of intellectual property right which allows the consumers to easily identify a particular good or service, thus creating a unique and distinctive identity of the product or service. Unlike patents, a trademark can be used to protect a set of products and services, for example, McDonald’s golden arch, Facebook logo, etc.
Copyright is the next type of intellectual property right. It does not protect any ideas or innovations but covers only tangible forms of creation and original work, such as books, literature, art, etc. The copyright owner gets the exclusive right to sell/publish the work and/or reproduce any literature, music, etc. done by the author, owner, etc. The last type of intellectual property right is a Trade Secret. A trade
Short-cut or Under-cut?
Intellectual property rights and their information is a must in today’s world as a lot of people are scammed and their invaluable ideas and innovations are stolen or used by others similarly or differently. These rights not only protect the misuse of the ideas and innovations but also protect the uniqueness and authenticity of the ideas and innovations. Intellectual property is one of the most important treasures of an individual and it is the duty and responsibility of each of us to make sure that our ideas and thoughts are always safe and protected from those who wish to use it for their gain.