Know About Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual property essentially refers to intangible property related primarily to the intellect or an idea, and possessed by a company or an individual. This term was first used in 1967 after WIPO or World Intellectual Property Organization was founded. In generic terms, intellectual property law is an umbrella term for patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Apart from artistic work, even business methods and trade designs are covered under its range.

Copyright laws generally protect artistic works like songs, books, articles, paintings, etc. The intellectual work protected has to be in a tangible form, and must be an original composition. These are aimed at generally promoting artistic or scientific work. It is usually granted for a fixed period of time by an authoritative body such as USPTO. But, the time period can be extended by applying for the same.

Patents are usually granted to someone for inventions which gives him the sole right to buy, sell, copy, and/or reproduce that item. Patents are usually granted by the Patents Office for a period of twenty years. All the major inventions and discoveries are generally patented by the inventor to protect anyone from infringing upon his sole rights over the product. At times, granting of a patent or a copyright can become a debatable issue.

Trademarks are different from copyrights and patents. These are essentially aimed at saving the consumers from being duped. It is a mark of authenticity, and guarantees a product belongs to a company, with that particular trademark. It is debatable whether the laws, pertaining to trademarks, should be included in the laws of intellectual property. But, since trademarks are related to particular symbol, representative of a product, it is often included within the IP laws.

Industrial design rights and trade secrets are also covered under the intellectual property laws. These laws provide an exclusive right or monopoly to the owner, and help protect them from infringement by a third party. Seen in that perspective, it might very well be termed as intellectual protectionism laws. These laws are protected by civil courts, and do not fall under the criminal code of law.

The laws pertaining to intellectual property exist at both state and federal level. In fact, there is an effort for an international agreement over the same. The debate over a general law, to protect the work of artists and scientists, has been an ongoing one. The Paris Convention held in 1883 drafted a treaty to protect intellectual rights.

More than a century has passed by. Still, not all states have signed the Paris Convention Treaty. There have been great efforts at international level to promote intellectual property law. All these efforts are for harmonizing the worldwide laws for intellectual property.