Intellectual Property Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Intellectual Property Rights - Essay Example In some jurisdictions, copyright, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and industrial design rights are also considered as common intellectual properties. The extent of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights largely varies from country to country. Both common law and statute play a significant role in the IP law relating to the creation and protection of intellectual property. Since trademarks, patents, and copyrights are under private ownership for a restricted period of time, specific statues are concerned with the creation and serving of such concepts. US Constitution and Congressional legislature is the major institution responsible for the governance of copyrights and patents whereas state and federal laws are concerned with trademarks and unfair competition disputes. Since patent law is a very complicated and broad one, several adjustments are made to patent law according the nature of breach of contract. 2. In Japan, works created by an individual under his own name or a known pseudonym are legally protected for fifty years after the individual’s death. ... According to the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) of 1998, copyright would last for the life of the author plus 70 years under normal case while the copyright may last for 95 years after publication or 120 years after creation in the case of corporate authorship works. Hence, if the author dies tonight after he created some music or sculpture in the morning, the copyright for his work will expire after 70 years. 6. When an individual works for a software company, he may own the software he created and it will be protected by copyright even if he has not formed a written agreement with the company. In the absence of a written agreement, creations of a salaried individual belong to his employer’s property. In order to apply for a software patent, it is necessary to provide the current state of the art, usefulness of the invention, software invention steps, and related flow diagrams and system diagrams. 7. An individual or group of individuals who have created a unique, origin al, and creative work of expression is given copyright. ‘Gone With The Wind’ (the book and film) and ‘System of A Down’ are some of the examples of copyright works. In addition, literary works, musical works, dramatic works, pantomimes and choreographic works, and computer databases are some other examples that qualify for copyright protection. Likewise, the right to show the name of the performer, right to control the reproduction of transmitted programs, and the right to control the broadcasting of live performances represent the examples of neighboring rights. 8. Secondary copyright deals with the manufacture and distribution of infringing copies. For instance, the trader who unintentionally sells or stores the infringed copies may be