what are intellectual property rights?

Question

suppose i come up with a new product to sell or aprocess of manufacturing.

Answer 1

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.

The four main types of IP 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. To understand exactly what can be protected by IP, you will need to check the four main areas of copyright, designs, patents and trade marks as well as other IP. Often, more than one type of IP may apply to the same creation.

Answer 2

Intellectual property laws are designed to protect different forms of intangible subject matter, although in some cases there is a degree of overlap.

copyright may subsist in creative and artistic works (eg. books, movies, music, paintings, photographs and software), giving a copyright holder the exclusive right to control reproduction or adaptation of such works for a certain period of time.
A patent may be granted in relation to an invention that is new, useful and not simply an obvious advancement over what existed when the application was filed. A patent gives the holder an exclusive right to commercially exploit the invention for a certain period of time (typically 20 years from the filing date of a patent application).
A trademark is a distinctive sign which is used to distinguish the products or services of one business from those of another business.
An industrial design right protects the form of appearance, style or design of an industrial object (eg. spare parts, furniture or textiles).
A trade secret (also known as "confidential information") is an item of confidential information concerning the commercial practices or proprietary knowledge of a business.

Answer 3

There are several branches here - trademarks, patents & copyrights. Let's tackle one at a time.

Re: Copyrights

Copyrights can be obtained for things of an artistic nature. This includes, of course, poetry, films, sculptures, music, fiction, etc. But can also include things that may not necessarily seem "artistic" in the general sense of the word. Copyrights can also be obtained for advertising copy, games, software programs and blueprints, to name just a few.

Re: Patents

To protect an original invention OR a significant improvement to an existing product, a patent would be filed. Here's the USPTO's definition: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html#patent

Re: Trademarks

Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry. Of course, it's necessary to research the mark comprehensively prior to filing to ensure that there is no possibility of infringing upon another party.

I posted some handy links for you. Hope that helps!

Answer 4

these pertain to ideas or concepts, as opposed to systems and devices