Intellectual Property (IP)
Intellectual property (IP) refers to the legal rights granted to creators and owners of inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. It provides a temporary monopoly to inventors and creators, incentivizing innovation and creative expression. The primary types of IP rights include:
- Patents: Exclusive rights granted for inventions, either products or processes, that are new, non-obvious, and industrially applicable (WIPO, 2004). Patents are territorial, typically lasting 20 years from the filing date.
- Trademarks: Distinctive signs used to identify the source of goods or services, preventing consumer confusion and protecting the owner’s goodwill (WIPO, 2004). Trademarks can be renewed indefinitely.
- Copyright: Exclusive rights over literary, artistic, musical, and other creative works, protecting the expression of ideas rather than the ideas themselves (WIPO, 2004). Copyright typically lasts for the creator’s lifetime plus 50-70 years.
- Industrial Designs: Rights over the ornamental or aesthetic aspects of an article, protecting the visual design of products (WIPO, 2004). Protection typically lasts 10-25 years.
- Trade Secrets: Confidential business information that provides a competitive edge, protected through contractual agreements and reasonable secrecy measures (WIPO, 2004).
- Geographical Indications: Rights over products associated with a specific geographical origin, where a quality, reputation, or characteristic is attributable to that origin (WIPO, 2004).