Q: What is the trademark? Why is it important?
Trademark is everything that has a distinctive design and used to distinguish between goods and products in order to retain mark owner the right to the trademark because such owner deals with and uses it in sales presentations and to distinguish its products or services.
Q: What are the components of the trademark?
Trademark may be a word or a combination of words, letters, and numerals can perfectly constitute a trademark. But trademarks may also consist of drawings, symbols, three-dimensional features such as the shape and packaging of goods, non-visible signs such as sounds or fragrances, or color shades used as distinguishing features – the possibilities are almost limitless.
Q: What is the importance of trademark registration?
In order to maintain the trademark owner right and protect it from infringement of other people, it is necessary to be registered under the competent authority. The trademark is registered with the owner`s data and address as well as the description of the goods. Any change to the trademark or transferring it to another company will be also registered. It must be published in the Brand Official Journal after acceptance to enable the public to exercise their rights to inspect the Gazette mentioned and taking legal action to prevent the registration of the mark in the case of similarity with his mark.
Q: What is the trademark monitoring/watching service?
Papyrus provides a service to its clients by maintaining their trademarks from infringement by third parties where we constantly search of local and international markets for signs similar to those of our clients` marks, which other people may exploit the reputation of those trademarks. If there is evidence of any infringement, it is to provide recommendations and what needs to be done in order to protect the trademark infringement and violation and follow-up it before relevant authorities.
In order to best protect your trademark, Papyrus strongly recommend you subscribe to a name watching service. Our Trademark Watching service will keep you informed of applicants attempting to register highly similar or identical trademarks to your own, either worldwide (in more than 200 countries), or on a regional/national basis.
We can then assist you through the process of objecting and, where possible, advise you on the merits of taking further action in the country or countries involved.
Q: What are the conditions for obtaining a patent?
- The invention must be new.
- The invention must involves an innovative step.
- The invention must be Industrially applicable.
What kind of protection does a patent offer?
In principle, the patent owner has the exclusive right to prevent or stop others from commercially exploiting the patented invention. 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.
Q: Is a patent valid in every country?
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.
How long does Patent protection last?
Patent is generally granted for 20 years from the date the patent application is filed.
Q: Why are patents useful (to society, business, individuals etc.)?
Patented inventions have, in fact, pervaded every aspect of human life, from electric lighting (patents held by Edison and Swan) and plastic (patents held by Baekeland), to ballpoint pens (patents held by Biro), and microprocessors (patents held by Intel, for example).
Patents provide incentives to and protection for individuals by offering them recognition for their creativity and the possibility of material reward for their inventions. At the same time, the obligatory publication of patents and patent applications facilitates the mutually-beneficial spread of new knowledge and accelerates innovation activities by, for example, avoiding the necessity to “re-invent the wheel”.
Q: What is an industrial design?
In a legal sense, an industrial design constitutes the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article.
An industrial design may consist of three dimensional features, such as the shape of an article, or two dimensional features, such as patterns, lines or color.
Q: What kind of protection does an industrial design right offer?
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.
Q: How long does industrial design protection last?
Industrial design rights are granted for a limited period. The duration of the protection of industrial designs varies from country to country, but it amounts at least to 10 years. In many countries, the total duration of protection is divided into successive renewable periods.
Q: What is the difference between an industrial design right and a patent?
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.
Registration of intellectual works (Copyright)
Q: What is copyright?
Copyright (or author’s right) is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works. Works covered by copyright range from books, music, paintings, sculpture, and films, to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps, and technical drawings.
Q: What can be protected using copyright?
broadly speaking, works commonly protected by copyright throughout the world include:
- literary works such as novels, poems, plays, reference works, newspaper articles;
- computer programs, databases;
- films, musical compositions, and choreography;
- artistic works such as paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculpture;
- architecture; and
- advertisements, maps, and technical drawings.
Copyright protection extends only to expressions, and not to ideas, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such. Copyright may or may not be available for a number of objects such as titles, slogans, or logos, depending on whether they contain sufficient authorship.
Q: What rights does copyright give me? What are my rights as author of a work?
There are two types of rights under copyright:
- economic rights, which allow the rights owner to derive financial reward from the use of their works by others; and
- moral rights, which protect the non-economic interests of the author.
Most copyright laws state that the rights owner has the economic right to authorize or prevent certain uses in relation to a work or, in some cases, to receive remuneration for the use of their work (such as through collective management). The economic rights owner of a work can prohibit or authorize:
- its reproduction in various forms, such as printed publication or sound recording;
- its public performance, such as in a play or musical work;
- its recording, for example, in the form of compact discs or DVDs;
- its broadcasting, by radio, cable or satellite;
- its translation into other languages; and
- its adaptation, such as a novel into a film screenplay.
Examples of widely recognized moral rights include the right to claim authorship of a work and the right to oppose changes to a work that could harm the creator’s reputation.
Q: What is the © symbol? Do I need to include it on my work?
In the past, some countries had legislation in place that required the copyright holder to comply with certain formalities in order to receive copyright protection. One of those formalities was to include an indication that copyright had been claimed, such as by using the symbol ©. Currently, very few countries still impose formalities on copyright, therefore the use of such symbols is no longer a legal requirement. Nonetheless, many right owners still include the symbol © as a highly visible way to emphasize that that work is protected by copyright and that all rights are reserved, as opposed to a less restrictive license.
Q: How long does copyright protection last?
Economic rights have a time limit, which can vary according to national law. In those countries which are members of the Berne Convention, the time limit should be equal to or longer than 50 years after the creator’s death. Longer periods of protection may however be provided at the national level.
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works |
The Berne Convention, adopted in 1886, deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors. It provides creators such as authors, musicians, poets, painters etc. with the means to control how their works are used, by whom, and on what terms. It is based on three basic principles and contains a series of provisions determining the minimum protection to be granted, as well as special provisions available to developing countries that want to make use of them. |
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property |
The Paris Convention, adopted in 1883, applies to industrial property in the widest sense, including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, service marks, trade names, geographical indications and the repression of unfair competition. This international agreement was the first major step taken to help creators ensure that their intellectual works were protected in other countries. |
Patent Law Treaty (PLT) |
The Patent Law Treaty (PLT) was adopted in 2000 with the aim of harmonizing and streamlining formal procedures with respect to national and regional patent applications and patents and making such procedures more user friendly. With the significant exception of filing date requirements, the PLT provides the maximum sets of requirements the office of a Contracting Party may apply. |
Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations |
The Rome Convention secures protection in performances for performers, in phonograms for producers of phonograms and in broadcasts for broadcasting organizations. WIPO is responsible for the administration of the convention jointly with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). |
WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) |
The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement under the Berne Convention which deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors in the digital environment. In addition to the rights recognized by the Berne Convention, they are granted certain economic rights. The Treaty also deals with two subject matters to be protected by copyright: (i) computer programs, whatever the mode or form of their expression; and (ii) compilations of data or other material (“databases”). |
WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty |
The WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) deals with the rights of two kinds of beneficiaries, particularly in the digital environment: (i) performers (actors, singers, musicians, etc.); and (ii) producers of phonograms (persons or legal entities that take the initiative and have the responsibility for the fixation of sounds). |
Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs |
The Hague Agreement governs the international registration of industrial designs. First adopted in 1925, the Agreement effectively establishes an international system – the Hague System – that allows industrial designs to be protected in multiple countries or regions with minimal formalities. |
Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks |
The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks is governed by the Madrid Agreement, concluded in 1891, and the Protocol relating to that Agreement, concluded in 1989. The system makes it possible to protect a mark in a large number of countries by obtaining an international registration that has effect in each of the designated Contracting Parties. |
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) |
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing an “international” patent application. Such an application may be filed by anyone who is a national or resident of a PCT Contracting State. It may generally be filed with the national patent office of the Contracting State of which the applicant is a national or resident or, at the applicant’s option, with the International Bureau of WIPO in Geneva. |
Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks |
The Nice Agreement establishes a classification of goods and services for the purposes of registering trademarks and service marks (the Nice Classification). The trademark offices of Contracting States must indicate, in official documents and publications in connection with each registration, the numbers of the classes of the Classification to which the goods or services for which the mark is registered belong. |
Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification |
The Strasbourg Agreement establishes the International Patent Classification (IPC) which divides technology into eight sections with approximately 70,000 subdivisions. Classification is indispensable for the retrieval of patent documents in the search for “prior art”. Such retrieval is needed by patent-issuing authorities, potential inventors, research and development units and others concerned with the application or development of technology. |
Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs |
The Locarno Agreement establishes a classification for industrial designs (the Locarno Classification). The competent offices of the Contracting States must indicate in official documents reflecting the deposit or registration of industrial designs the numbers of the classes and subclasses of the Classification to which the goods incorporating the designs belong. This must also be done in any publication the offices issue in respect of the deposit or registration of industrial designs. |
Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks |
The Vienna Agreement establishes a classification (the Vienna Classification) for marks that consist of, or contain, figurative elements. The competent offices of Contracting States must indicate in official documents and publications relating to registrations and renewals of marks the numbers of the categories, divisions and sections of the Classification to which the figurative elements of those marks belong. |
Q: What is domain name registration?
Nothing too complicated. It’s the process of finding a web address (like GoDaddy.com or LilysBikes.com), and then signing up to use it.
It’s more like leasing a condo then buying a house. You technically don’t own the domain, but once you’ve registered it, you’re free to keep it as long as you continue paying the annual registration fee.
Q: Why should I register a domain name?
There are a quite few reasons, actually. But most of the 300+ billion domain names registered around the world have one of two things in common.
Getting online.
A great domain is essential if you’re looking to get started online with a website or online store. While many tech providers let you create a site on a free domain that they own, it’s not the best way to build a brand. When you register a domain, you have the freedom to have it say anything you want — and even move it to another provider.
Making money.
Some savvy online entrepreneurs have a knack for registering a web address they know will generate lots of demand, and then selling it for a profit on the domain aftermarket. Anyone can be a domain investor (as they’re called), you just need to learn a few things, like where to find the cheapest domains.