Property does not only comprise of tangible things like homes, cars, furniture, money, investments etc and such property are not the only type that can be safeguarded by law. Other kinds of property which are intangible in form also exist. They are termed intellectual property and these are also protected by the law. Copyrights, trademarks and patents are the three primary categories of intellectual property.
Copyright is an intellectual property right that is granted by law to an author or any other type of creator for an original composition or development. This right may be awarded for music, films, paintings and other forms of creative expressions and not just the written or published material. The copyright accords the sole right of ownership over the piece in question in addition to rights to get monetary benefits resulting from the work.
Trademarks on the other hand are intellectual property that pertains to protection accorded to certain text, graphical representations and other marks that distinguish the source of one product from the other. They safeguard the trademark owners from being financially exploited by counterfeiters.
The third type of intellectual property right is the patent, which is bestowed upon inventors to safeguard their inventions and ideas. Patents are valid for a predetermined period within which the owner can enforce his sole right to sale and other commercial use of his invention.
Some other, less often enforced intellectual property rights are also provided for by the law. Some examples of other types are traditional knowledge possessed by natives of a specific region that is distinctive only to that area; trade secrets that include business secrets, for example, KFC's recipe; and geographical indicators that are a variation of trademarks used for products originating from a particular part of the world, for example Champagne.
While all the three kinds of intellectual property discussed above are different from each other there are also some commonalities. All of these are safeguarded within the legal framework and the rightful holders can take legal action in a court of law and claim reparation in case of any violation.
Copyright is an intellectual property right that is granted by law to an author or any other type of creator for an original composition or development. This right may be awarded for music, films, paintings and other forms of creative expressions and not just the written or published material. The copyright accords the sole right of ownership over the piece in question in addition to rights to get monetary benefits resulting from the work.
Trademarks on the other hand are intellectual property that pertains to protection accorded to certain text, graphical representations and other marks that distinguish the source of one product from the other. They safeguard the trademark owners from being financially exploited by counterfeiters.
The third type of intellectual property right is the patent, which is bestowed upon inventors to safeguard their inventions and ideas. Patents are valid for a predetermined period within which the owner can enforce his sole right to sale and other commercial use of his invention.
Some other, less often enforced intellectual property rights are also provided for by the law. Some examples of other types are traditional knowledge possessed by natives of a specific region that is distinctive only to that area; trade secrets that include business secrets, for example, KFC's recipe; and geographical indicators that are a variation of trademarks used for products originating from a particular part of the world, for example Champagne.
While all the three kinds of intellectual property discussed above are different from each other there are also some commonalities. All of these are safeguarded within the legal framework and the rightful holders can take legal action in a court of law and claim reparation in case of any violation.
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Discover more about industrial design Singapore and discover how does a patent lawyer and IP protection increase the net worth of your business very fast. This article, Types Of Intellectual Property is released under a creative commons attribution licence.
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