Copyright
Copyright applies to recorded artistic and literary works. This includes a wide range of works, including:
- Literary works, such as poetry, song lyrics, manuscripts, manuals, computer programs/software, website code/scripts and text content, commercial documents, leaflets, newsletters and articles etc.
- Dramatic works, such as plays, dance choreography, etc.
- Musical works, in both sound recordings and score or notation.
- Artworks, such as photography, painting, digital art, sculptures, technical drawings/diagrams, maps, logos, etc.
- Typographical arrangement of published editions such as in magazines and periodicals.
- Sound recordings, which includes recordings of other copyright works, e.g. a performance of musical or literary work.
- Films, video footage, broadcasts and cable programmes.
Copyright gives the author specific rights in relation to the work, prohibits unauthorised actions, and allows the author to take legal action against instances of infringement or plagiarism.
Trademarks
A trademark is intended to prevent confusion in the marketplace. A trademark can be a name, word, slogan, design, symbol or other unique device that identifies a product or organisation. It is quite literally ‘a mark under which you trade’.
Trademark can be represented by the ‘R in a circle’ ® denoting a registered trademark, or the letters ‘TM’. In the USA they also have a separate classification for services and also use the letters ‘SM’ to denote a ‘service mark’, though they in fact receive the same legal protection as trademarks.
Unregistered trademarks
Common law provides protection against what is called ‘passing off’. This is where someone else uses the mark in the same or similar market in a way that could confuse customers that were looking for your business (such as an unscrupulous trader attempting to poach trade). To successfully prove passing off you should be able to demonstrate that:
- The name is yours. e.g. some proof of ownership and/or creation (such as a copyright registration) that predates the offence.
- Customers associate the name with you. You need to show you have been trading under that name and have historical customers that have bought from you under that name.
- You have been harmed by the other person’s use of the name. e.g. loss of revenue.
Trademark registration
To add weight to a claim, trademarks can also be registered at a national or territory level with an appointed government body. Trademark applications typically take anywhere between 6 and 18 months to be processed.
Registering in countries such as the US, the UK, Japan, etc will protect your mark in that country only, but within the European Union, there now exists a Community Trade Mark (CTM) which covers the mark in all EU countries. T
Registered trademarks may be identified by the ‘®’ symbol. (it is illegal to use the ® symbol or state that the trademark is registered until the trademark has in fact been registered).
In most countries, the national patent office will also administer trademark registrations.
Design rights
A design right will apply to a physical product: the appearance of a product, in particular, the shape, texture, colour, materials used, contours and ornamentation. To qualify as a new design, the overall impression should be different from any existing design.
Just like trademarks in the previous section, an unregistered design right will receive some protection under common law, but can be registered at national (or world region) level for further protection in those countries.
Patents
Patents apply to industrial processes and inventions, and protect against the unauthorised implementation of the invention.
Patents are grants made by national governments that give the creator of an invention an exclusive right to use, sell or manufacture the invention. Like trademarks, patents are registered at a national or territory level with an appointed government body. Patents typically take 2 to 3 years to be granted based on the applicable jurisdiction.
To know more about the services or related assistance, you can talk to one of our intellectual property advocate/consultant by calling +91 766 9192 999. You can also fill in our Contact form to request a call back at your convenience.