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What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property refers to inventions and creations of the mind. The term “intellectual property” was first used in the 19th century, however, it was not until the late 20th century that intellectual property rights became a part of the world’s foremost legal systems. Intellectual property is a way of protecting creators who make intangible goods. Since such goods can easily be copied or stolen or plagiarized, there was a need for laws that safeguarded the financial and moral rights of those who created such works.

Intellectual property rights are now part of basic human rights that are recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They can be found in Article 27 of the declaration and seek to persuade countries to protect the moral and material interests of those create scientific, literary, or artistic works.

Types of Intellectual Property

There are several kinds of intellectual property rights that are recognized by legal systems around the world. These rights include patents, copyrights, trademarks, industrial design rights, geographical indications, and more.

Copyrights

Copyright is a way of granting protection to authors, artists, and other such creators for their literary and creative work. Using copyright law, you can protect your novels, plays, poems, computer programs, films, music compositions, lyrics, and many more such works. Copyright grants certain legal protections to the holder of the copyright or their heirs or successors.

The holder of copyright can authorize or prohibit any form of reproduction of his work including in print form, digital form, or sound recording. They can also prohibit the public performance of their work or communication of their work to the public in any form. Copyright includes protection from the work being translated into other languages.

Patents

A patent is an exclusive right that is granted for an invention. The invention can be a new process or a new product. It can be a new way of doing or achieving the desired end-product. It can be a solution to a technical problem.

The patent is a way of granting protection to the person or persons who have created the invention. The protection under patent law is provided for a limited period of time which is generally twenty years.  

Trademarks

A trademark is a way for businesses or individuals to protect their commercial rights. A trademark is a distinctive symbol that is used to identify certain goods or services being provided by a particular entity. For example, the brand “Nike” is protected under trademark law and other businesses and individuals cannot use the same symbol and name to market their own goods or products.

The trademark system helps consumers identify goods and services based on specific characteristics and qualities that are denoted by a trademark. It helps both producers and consumers find each other in an otherwise crowded marketplace.

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Bio – Aaryaman Aashind is a writer and concerned global citizen. When he isn’t researching stories, you can find him marveling at the passage of time or commenting on the weather. 

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