Intellectual property is a collective concept covering the scope of the law on intangible property, i.e. all that is the result of human intellectual activity.
Intellectual property rights are divided into two Basic categories: industrial property rights, copyright and related rights. Intellectual property rights are exclusive rights, but they are limited in time and territorial terms, so they can be used for a certain period of time and in a certain area. Intellectual property rights, excluding personal copyright, are hereditary, can be sold or waived.
Industrial property rights
The element necessary to obtain industrial property rights is the registration or registration in the relevant institution, e.g. the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, which involves the need to pay fees both at the beginning of the procedure and during the course of the protection, as opposed to copyright rights which arise spontaneously.
Industrial property rights shall be:
- 1) the right to a patent on invention,
- 2) protective law on the utility model,
- 3) the right to register an industrial design,
- 4) trademark rights,
- 5) rights of registration for geographical indications and,
- 6) rights from the registration of topography of the integrated circuit.
Trade mark
one of the most popular industrial property rights is a trademark. The trade mark may be any indication that enables the consumer to identify the goods. The most common forms of trademarks are: verbal, graphic, verbal-graphic, three-dimensional or multimedia characters. The trade mark shall be protected for a period 10 years, but protection can be renewed every 10 years forever.
Industrial design
We define solutions that are technical, i.e. concerning the shape or construction of the object, the materials from which it was made, its colours. The industrial design therefore defines the outer part of the object.
Therefore, any single-dimensional objects (logo, labels) and spatial objects (car models, household items, building materials) may be protected. In order for the design to be effectively recorded, it must comply two criteria, i.e. to have an individual character and to be new and thus not previously registered.
Protection of the industrial design continues 25 However, 5 years renew the application and regularly pay it.
Inventions and utility designs
The invention, like the industrial design, is a technical solution. Patents can be granted on the product, device, method and new application of products, but can not be patented e.g. mathematical formula or scientific theories.
Patents are subject to such inventions and technical solutions, which are not obvious in a given field of technology. The patent holder, through a licensing agreement, can decide who will use the solution or the product covered by the patent.
Patent protection is maximum 20 years from the date of filing an invention with the Polish Patent Office, provided that annual fees are paid.
The utility model is a new and useful solution of a technical nature, concerning the shape, construction or composition of an object of a permanent form. Protection law on a utility model is granted on 10 years.
Registration rights for geographical indications
Geographical indications, within the meaning of the Act, are word marks referring directly or indirectly to the name of the place, locality, region or country (teren), which identify the goods as originating in that area, where the particular quality, good opinion or other characteristics of the goods are attributed primarily to the geographical origin of the goods. Geographical indications can only be verbal and its protection is unlimited in time.
Registration rights of topography of the integrated circuit
According to the Industrial Property Law Act, the topography of the integrated circuit means a solution consisting of spatial, expressed in any way, planning elements, of which at least one is an active element, and all or parts of integrated circuit connections.
Topography is the spatial functional structure of the physically realized integrated circuit. Topography of integrated circuits is protected if it was not widely known at the time of its creation, it is original and is also the result of the intellectual work of the creator.
The right to register topography of integrated circuits is granted for the period 10 years from the end of the year in which it was placed on the market or notified to the Patent Office of Poland.
Copyright and related rights
The object of copyright is every manifestation of creative activity of an individual nature, determined in any form, regardless of the value, purpose and manner of expression - the so-called track. Copyrights are divided into personal and property copyrights.
Personal copyright, as the name itself indicates, is inextricably linked to the person of the creator and cannot be transferred to other persons. In turn property copyrights can be transferred to other people, so anyone who wants to use the work must obtain permission from the creator.
This does not apply to situations where the property rights to the work have expired and when the use of the work takes place under the so-called permitted private use.
Property rights to the work will continue 70 years after the death of the author, and in the case of the co-author of the work, this period counts from the death of the last co-author of the work.
In turn related laws have a special importance in the work of actors, musicians or journalists.
The difference between copyrights and related rights is expressed in the fact that they are entitled to persons who cannot be attributed a creative contribution to the creation of the work, but only to intermediation in the transfer of the work to the public.
Related rights within the meaning of the Act are: rights to artistic performances, rights to phonograms and videograms, rights to broadcast programs, rights to first editions and rights to scientific and critical editions.
Why Protect Intellectual Property
There are many reasons for protecting your intellectual property. First of all, you gain the exclusive use of a particular object or solution and profit from it. Intellectual property objects without protection can be used by competition, while the owner is not able to obtain remuneration for using the solution. Thanks to the registration of the subject of protection, the owner can determine prohibition and compensation claims against persons third, eliminating the possibility of imitation.
It is worth protecting intellectual property from a business point of view, by protecting its achievements and using it to strengthen its position on the market and build competitive advantage. It is also worth noting that intellectual property rights constitute assets of the company and therefore, in fact, increase the value of the company. They may be transferred as an aport to the company as well as traded or used as collateral for the loan.
In addition, one can be tempted to say that having exclusive rights is a determinant of the company's innovation and prestige, which in turn can translate into greater trust in the company's contractors.
For these reasons, despite the costs associated with obtaining and maintaining exclusive rights, it is worth protecting intellectual property, in order to protect its acquis and use it to strengthen its market position.