Commemorating World IP Day 2010

Date: 22nd April, 2010

April 26th marks World Intellectual Property Day. Intellectual property lawyer Jeanine Rizzo spends some time discussing IP as an asset to individuals and businesses alike.

For more information on registering and protecting your IP assets, please contact Jeanine Rizzo at the Intellectual Property department. 

Capitalising on the “Eureka” moment

“Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?” this is what Obadiah Stane, Iron Man’s rival in the first movie based on the Marvel comic, asks the superhero. That single question, buried an hour into a Hollywood movie, is the basis of the protection afforded by law to intellectual property (IP): that an idea becomes a reality, an asset, one reserved for the exploitation of its owner.

As we go about our daily lives, there are things we start to take for granted. When running a business, this is a pitfall which must be avoided at all costs. However, there is one asset – intellectual property – which businesses are regularly failing to capitalise on. It is often side-lined and written off as something which can be dealt with at a later date, possibly because other issues appear to be more pressing.

Truth is, intellectual property is the single most important asset you can own.

The late Sir Hugh Laddie, one of the foremost authors on the subject and specialist judge at the British High Court always loved to regale his students with a simple yet effective example of the different IP mechanisms, and how deep rooted they are in our everyday lives. His example was a brand new toothbrush – still in its box.

The toothbrush itself may be protected by both design rights – its appearance – and by patent law – perhaps the bristles are made by a new fibre. Design rights protect the look of functional objects. It gives an automatic protection for three years, but when registered the protection lasts longer. Patents protect inventions such as new machines or processes.

The name of the toothbrush and the name of the production company may be registered trade marks. As could be any accompanying logos, the corporate colours, or, in very special cases, the shape of the product itself. Trade marks are signs such as words or logos which act as indicators of who the producer is. Finally, the wording on the back of the box is protected by copyright. Copyright, on the other hand, is an automatic right granted to authors of literary, artistic, musical, audiovisual works and databases.

All in all, the toothbrush in its packaging is a minefield of IP rights. So think about the uses of IP in your activities – your corporate name or logo; your product itself; perhaps something you have written, drawn or photographed; something you have designed. The exploitation of IP allows you to capitalise on what you have created. It is a system which has received international consensus and protection is not only national, but also regional and international.

On the 26th of April, the World Intellectual Property Organisation along with the rest of us will be celebrating “World Intellectual Property Day”. This is the tenth anniversary of World IP day, and this year the theme chosen is “Innovation – Linking the World”.

Innovation is a cause for the advancement of our society – we chuckle at how big computers and mobile phones were in the past. Nowadays, they fit in the palm of our hand, are touch based and screens burst with different colours and clarity. Innovation spurs our every day forward. Intellectual property protection is seen as a just reward for innovators: they are given a monopoly to, if it is their choice, be able to capitalise on their work. This they do by licensing use of their works to third parties. And we witness this phenomenon used all around us: technology used in some television screens, in iPods, in cars, washing machines, in the music that is played, and the channels which show certain TV shows and sports events, in pharmaceuticals and the way they are priced, in DVDs which only play in certain players, and branding and the success and fame of some brands over others.

So dedicate some time this World Intellectual Property Day to look around and spot some of the IP protected items that surround you, and then, more importantly, identify one of the numerous IP mechanisms to best protect your assets.

This article was published in the Business Section of the Times of Malta, www.timesofmalta.com