Protecting Innovation

Protecting Innovation

Technology and Innovation

Contents 1 Start-Up Intellectual Property Initiative

2 Facilitator’s Function

3 Copyrights

4 Software Innovations

5 Copyright related to innovation

6 Patents

7 Reasons for using Patents

8 Trademark

9 Trademark - Negativity

10 What Do Trademarks Protect?

11 Design Rights

12 Design Registration

13 Rights conferred by registration

Start-Up Intellectual Property Initiative

the scheme of Start-Up Intellectual Property

Protection ("SIPP")

Facilitators shall be

empanelled for this purpose

enables the Start-Ups to protect their

IPRs

© 2017. All Rights Reserved.

Facilitator’s Function

Providing general advisory on different IPRs & information on protecting and promoting IPRs in other countries on a no charge basis

Providing assistance in filing and disposal of the IP applications related to patents, trademarks and design under relevant Acts

Drafting specifications for inventions of Start-Ups

Appearing on behalf of Start-Ups at hearings, contesting opposition and ensuring final disposal of the IP applications

Preparing and filing responses to examinations reports and other queries, notices or letters by the IP office.


Copyrights

What?

• Copyright is the right which protects the expression of an idea. The right exists on creation of work. The copyright is for any literary work, musical work, dramatics works, choreographic works, pictorial, graphic and sculptural works, cinematography work, performance etc.

Tenure

• The tenure of copyright is till the life of an author and 60 years after the death of the author. It is not mandatory to register your copyright but it is always advisable to register your copyrightable subject matter and get a certificate from the Copyright Registry.

Ref • http://nif.org.in/faq


Software Innovations Further, Section 2(ffc) of the Act defines 'Computer program' as a set of instructions expressed in words, codes, schemes or in any other form, including a machine readable medium, capable of causing a computer to perform a particular task or achieve a particular result. Hence, software program can certainly be protected under Copyright law.

An example of software program registered as copyright in India is the copyright granted to the Hindi to Punjabi

Machine Translation Software developed by Dr. Vishal Goyal and Dr. G.S.Lehal, from the Punjabi University Patiala

Copyright protection extends for author's lifetime plus 60 years. Hence, protecting software program under copyright law (which in any case is automatic) may arrear to be attractive. However, it has to be noted that copyright protects expression of an idea and not the idea itself. Hence, in the case of software programs, it is the software program that is

protected, and not the functionality of the software programs. Hence, it may not be a good idea to rely solely on copyright law to protect software related invention. One may wish to explore the option of protecting software related inventions using patents. © 2017. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright relation to innovation


Copyright protection can be used to promote the creation of new works by giving authors control over the expressions of such works, so they can profit from them. This type of IP protection may be useful for tracing developments in some highly innovative sectors like software, but also in creative industries (Tang, 1999). Moreover, the development of digital devices has raised new opportunities for providing innovative services based on the use of copyright-protected materials.

As it protects only the expression, copyright offers narrower rights than, e.g. patents. In the case of software copyright protects the

source code but not the inventions it implements

Protects expressions

but not ideas

Patents • An exclusive right granted by a country to an inventor, allowing

the inventor to exclude others from making, using or selling his or her invention in that country during the life of the patent.

• It does NOT give the inventor the right to use or "practice" the invention, and thus the right is subject to any prior rights that others may have to related inventions.

• For example, if you have a patent on a “vessel to hold coffee” and I have a patent on a “handle for a vessel”, then I can prevent you from putting a handle on a coffee cup and you can prevent me from attaching a cup to my handle.

• A patent is issued to the individual inventor and not to a company, although it is typical practice to have employees assign inventions to their employer.

• Patent protection is available for any product, process or design that meets certain requirements of novelty, non obviousness and utility.


Patents

• In the United States, a patent application must be filed with the Patent & Trademark Office no later than one year after a description of the invention is published or publicly disclosed or the invention is first put on sale or made available for commercial use.

• In some countries, the "first to file" a patent will prevail in a dispute among inventors, whereas in the United States the "first to invent" wins--if the patent application is filed within the one year period.

• Although foreign patent filings may be made individually in each foreign country, they are usually made under one of two international treaties: the Patent Cooperation Treaty or the European Patent Convention.

• Unfortunately, patent applications aren't published or made available by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office until at least 18 months after filing. As a result, there is no direct way of knowing what patents your competitors may be in the process of obtaining.


Reasons for using Patents • Exclusive rights - Patents provide the exclusive rights which usually allow

your SME to use and exploit the invention for twenty years from the date of filing of the patent application.

• Strong market position - Through these exclusive rights, you are able to prevent others from commercially using your patented invention, thereby reducing competition and establishing yourself in the market as the pre-eminent player.

• Higher returns on investments - Having invested a considerable amount of money and time in developing innovative products, your SME could, under the umbrella of these exclusive rights, commercialize the invention enabling your SME to obtain higher returns on investments.

• Opportunity to license or sell the invention - If you chose not to exploit the patent yourself, you may sell it or license the rights to commercialize it to another enterprise which will be a source of income for your SME.


Reasons for using Patents • Increase in negotiating power - If your SME is in the process of acquiring

the rights to use the patents of another enterprise, through a licensing contract, your patent portfolio will enhance your bargaining power. That is to say, your patents may prove to be of considerable interest to the enterprise with whom you are negotiating and you could enter into a cross licensing arrangement where, simply put, the patent rights could be exchanged between your enterprise and the other.

• Positive image for your enterprise - Business partners, investors and shareholders may perceive patent portfolios as a demonstration of the high level of expertise, specialization and technological capacity within your company. This may prove useful for raising funds, finding business partners and raising your company's market value.


Plant Variety Protection India's Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act of 2001 is the most far-reaching legislation with regard to establishing rights for farmers to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seed. The farmers are entitled to save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, share and sell farm produce, including seeds of varieties protected by plant breeders' rights. They are, however, not allowed to sell seeds of protected varieties as branded packages. The Act seeks to protect farmers from exaggerated claims by seed companies regarding the performance of their registered varieties. The breeder is obliged to disclose to farmers the performance of the variety under given conditions. If the material fails to perform according to this information, farmers may claim compensation from the breeding company through the Authority set up to administer the Act. It also seeks to ensure that these seeds are of good quality, or at least that farmers are adequately informed about the quality of seed they buy. In addition, safeguards are provided against innocent infringement by farmers.


Trademark A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. Trademarks are especially valuable for goods where status and quality matters. Trademarks identify the distinctive origin of a product, service or company, guaranteeing quality and good will, reducing consumer search costs. Yet innovating firms make extensive use of trademarks. A trademark identifies the origin of a product, service or company, distinguishing it from other products, services or companies. A trademark holder also receives a legal monopoly on the use of the mark for the designated commodity, and is protected against infringement. Unlike patents and copyrights, trademarks do not expire after a set term of years.


Trademark

Trademarks can positively affect a firm’s incentives to innovate in two manners-

• They provide direct incentives to engage in incremental innovation, particularly product differentiation.

• And for both basic and incremental innovation, they can be leveraged indirectly to supplement other appropriability strategies.


Trademark - Negatives

Trademarked goods (like patented goods) are not only vulnerable to competitive assaults, they are also highly sensitive to consumer actions. If the problem is not resolved immediately, and the solution is not communicated widely to consumers, the damage might take years to repair.


Trademark examples


What do Trademarks Protect?

• Trademarks protect consumers from being misled. They ensure free competition by protecting the goodwill of the entity that owns the mark. Unlike copyrights that deal with the marketplace of expressive ideas, trademarks deal with the marketplace of goods and services.

• Trademark symbols provide powerful source-identifying cues that allow us to make value judgments about the quality of certain goods before we sample them.

• One of several effective ways to protect a trademark is to register it with the state or federal government.


Design Rights

• A registered design protects the visual appearance of a product or item and gives you exclusive rights for that appearance to the extent that, if necessary, there is a legal right to stop an unauthorised party from producing or using your design. Design rights protect the way a product looks.

• The Designs Act 2000 and the Designs Rules 2001 constitute the statutory and regulatory design laws in India. They aim to balance the competing interests of rights holders wishing to protect their designs against the public interest in common shapes being kept available.

• Registration of designs in respect of any or all articles comprised in a prescribed class is mandatory if protection is to be claimed. The classification is based on the Locarno classification system.


Design Registration

Designs which are registrable should be- • New or original – not published

• Significantly distinguishable from known designs or

combinations of known designs

• Devoid of scandalous or obscene matter


Rights conferred by registration

Apply the design to any article in the class in which

it is registered

Right lasts for a 10-year period, which can be

extended by five years

Is open to cancellation proceedings by any

interested person on the grounds that it is not

registrable and/or does not qualify as a design


Protecting Innovation

Leadership & Management