ntellectual Property Law

What Everybody Ought to Know About Intellectual Property Law

by Marios Pattihis on Apr 23, 2009

Intellectual property law is the law that governs rights in creative works and inventions. The most common such rights are patents, copyright and trademarks.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright is a right which gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it. This right extends to most literary, dramatic and art forms. Copyright is not indefinite, but rather last for a limited period. This period will vary depending on the type of work, and ranges from 25 years from the date of publication to 70 years from the date of death of the author. Copyright exists automatically, and does not require any form of registration for the creator to have copyright protection.

PATENTS

A patent represents a series of rights granted by a national government, which effectively grants the patent holder protection and exclusive exploitation rights in connection with an invention. Not everything can be patented; patents will only be granted for...Read More >>