INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
A patent owner has the right to decide who may – or may not – use the patented invention for the period in which the invention is protected. In other words, patent protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed, imported, or sold by others without the patent owner's consent.
Patents may be granted for inventions in any field of technology, from an everyday kitchen utensil to a nanotechnology chip. An invention can be a product – such as a chemical compound, or a process, for example – or a process for producing a specific chemical compound. Many products in fact contain a number of inventions. For example, a laptop computer can involve hundreds of inventions, working together.
Patent protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years from the filing date of the application.
Patents are territorial rights. In general, the exclusive rights are only applicable in the country or region in which a patent has been filed and granted, in accordance with the law of that country or region.
You cannot get a patent for a mathematical formula, a law of nature, or a scientific principle that has no functional application. Nor can you get a patent for a naturally occurring substance that you discovered. Also, public policy prevents granting patents for inventions that have only illegal uses, pharmaceuticals that are not safe to market to the public, or ways of conducting surgery on people. Other types of subject matter that cannot receive patent protection include processes that consist entirely of human motor coordination, as well as printed materials that lack a distinctive shape or structure. If you have composed a creative work, such as a song, a movie, or a novel, copyright would be the appropriate form of protection, rather than a patent.
An invention is non-obvious if the typical person in the field would not view it as a predictable development. This takes into account some level of specialized knowledge, but not necessarily the inventor’s level of knowledge. The non-obviousness requirement is highly subjective. It requires the patent examiner to consider only the inventions in the field that existed on the date that the application was filed, even though the evaluation usually occurs much later.
If you have a utility patent, protection usually lasts for 20 years after the filing date of the application. If you filed the application before June 8, 1995, patent protection may last for 17 years after the patent was issued if this provides longer protection than the 20-year period. If you have a design patent, protection lasts for 14 years after the patent was issued. If you have a plant patent, protection lasts for 17 years after the patent was issued.
You may be able to sue the company for copyright or patent infringement if you put down your idea in some type of protectable form. This does not necessarily mean that you have a registered patent or copyright, but you at least need to have written it down, filed a provisional patent application, or done something similar. If you have not done this, you still may be able to sue if the company signed a non-disclosure agreement before discussing the idea with you. This would be similar to a breach of contract case. Finally, you may be able to sue based on a breach of an implied agreement if your idea was a trade secret or in certain other circumstances, but these cases are usually hard to win.
Exhaustive lists of works covered by copyright are usually not to be found in legislation. Nonetheless, broadly speaking, works commonly protected by copyright throughout the world include:
Firstly, copyright protection is automatic in all states party to the Berne Convention (refer to the question “Can I register copyright?”). Whilst there may be nuances to the particular national laws applicable in these states, in general there is a high degree of harmony. You can consult national laws and treaties using WIPO Lex.
Once you are the right owner of a work, you can provide authorization for others to use or exploit your work. Such authorizations are commonly referred to as “licenses” and may or may not entail paying the rights owner. Naturally, it is always recommended to seek expert legal advice before negotiating a licensing agreement.
Computer programs and other types of software are considered as literary works for copyright purposes. Therefore they receive automatic protection without the need for registration. In some countries, the process of voluntary registration for software may differ from that for other types of work.
In a legal sense, an industrial design constitutes the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article.
In principle, the owner of a registered industrial design or of a design patent has the right to prevent third parties from making, selling or importing articles bearing or embodying a design which is a copy, or substantially a copy, of the protected design, when such acts are undertaken for commercial purposes.
An industrial design right protects only the appearance or aesthetic features of a product, whereas a patent protects an invention that offers a new technical solution to a problem. In principle, an industrial design right does not protect the technical or functional features of a product. Such features could, however, potentially be protected by a patent. Find out more about patents.
At the national/regional level, trademark protection can be obtained through registration, by filing an application for registration with the national/regional trademark office and paying the required fees. At the international level, you have two options: either you can file a trademark application with the trademark office of each country in which you are seeking protection, or you can use WIPO’s Madrid System.
The term of trademark registration can vary, but is usually ten years. It can be renewed indefinitely on payment of additional fees. Trademark rights are private rights and protection is enforced through court orders.
A geographical indication right enables those who have the right to use the indication to prevent its use by a third party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards. For example, in the jurisdictions in which the Darjeeling geographical indication is protected, producers of Darjeeling tea can exclude use of the term “Darjeeling” for tea not grown in their tea gardens or not produced according to the standards set out in the code of practice for the geographical indication.
However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication. Protection for a geographical indication is usually obtained by acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication.
There are four main ways to protect a geographical indication:
These approaches involve differences with respect to important questions, such as the conditions for protection or the scope of protection. On the other hand, two of the modes of protection — namely sui generis systems and collective or certification mark systems — share some common features, such as the fact that they set up rights for collective use by those who comply with defined standards.
Broadly speaking geographical indications are protected in different countries and regional systems through a wide variety of approaches and often using a combination of two or more of the approaches outlined above. These approaches have been developed in accordance with different legal traditions and within a framework of individual historical and economic conditions.
Geographical indications (GIs) identify a good as originating from a particular place. By contrast, a trademark identifies a good or service as originating from a particular company.
A trademark often consists of a fanciful or arbitrary sign. In contrast, the name used as a geographical indication is usually predetermined by the name of a geographical area.
Finally, a trademark can be assigned or licensed to anyone, anywhere in the world, because it is linked to a specific company and not to a particular place. In contrast, a GI may be used by any persons in the area of origin, who produces the good according to specified standards, but because of its link with the place of origin, a GI cannot be assigned or licensed to someone outside that place or not belonging to the group of authorized producers.
A trade secret is any type of information, idea, product, device, formula, or combination of these that gives its owner an advantage over the competition. Its owner must take reasonable steps to keep it secret to preserve protection. A trade secret will remain protected as long as its owner maintains secrecy. It might involve not only information about what works well for your type of business but also information about what does not work well. In short, a trade secret can cover anything that is not generally known if it has some business value.
You can prevent anyone subject to a non-disclosure agreement or an automatic duty of confidentiality from revealing the secret without permission, or from copying the secret, using it, or otherwise benefiting from it. (For example, an employee would be subject to an automatic duty of confidentiality.)
The extent of your precautions will depend on the value of the secrets. You do not need to surround your business with barbed wire and an army of guards, but you should make sure to consistently use non-disclosure agreements, mark folders as confidential, lock away confidential information when you leave the business, use computer passwords, and limit the number of people who can get access to confidential information.
The owner of the trade secret can get an injunction in civil court, which will order the thief to refrain from any further disclosure or use of the secret. Also, the owner may be able to receive damages for any losses caused by the theft or disclosure of the secret. They would need to show that they kept the information secret and that it confers a competitive advantage, and the defendant improperly acquired or disclosed the information. Sometimes the thief will face criminal prosecution as well. Laws such as the federal Economic Espionage Act impose substantial fines and years in prison for the intentional theft of trade secrets by individuals or companies. Some states impose their own criminal penalties for trade secret theft.
Yes, you may, subject to approval by the Institute Director and Centre Heads, based on the budget utilization through OPEX or grant.
There’re fees to participate, please liaise with Ms Biha for further information.
There will be a form that inventor must fill up to register the technology. Please submit your application through the link.
Institute Grant Review Committee (IGRC) TRL Assessment is a committee chaired by the Institute Director where the committees will evaluate the technology accordingly.
Please liaise with Ms Biha for further information.
Any inquiries, please submit here.
Refer here for any Forms and Guidelines.
