HOW & WHERE TO PROTECT YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Presented by Yahaya Maikori
AGENDA
What is intellectual Property ?
Why should I care
Types of IP protection
Case study
WHAT IS IP?
“IP is a group of legal rights that provides protection over things that people create or invent “.
WHY SHOULD YOU(OR I ) CARE
IP can attract investments
Deter others from stealing our ideas
Deter other from entering the market
defend as the patent portfolio
Defend against other patent portfolios
License or trade with other
Provide alternative source of income
TYPES OF IP & HOW TO PROTECT THEM (OTHERS)
Company registration
Domain name
Social Media Account - Twitter, linked etc
***UDRPs (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy)
TRADE SECRETS
Have economic value because it is not known to your competitors, it includes know how, database, contact list, trade secrets,recipes it is confidential in nature and the owner has made effort to protect it .
Formula for Coca-Cola (Coke™)Decided not to patent to keep secret FOREVER…KFC’s secret recipeOnly 3 executives have access to the recipe
Anti engineering clausesThey supplement both the copyright and patent laws and in case where ideas have not developed sufficiently to Protects know how, database, contact list, trade secrets its built entirely on vase law and the info must be of a confidential nature and the
owner has made eeforst ot protect it
TRADE SECRETS CONT’D
Relatively low cost to gain protection
Some consider it practically free
Must take precautions to maintain secrecy
Protection lasts as long as the secret remains a secret
protects information/knowledge that can be kept “relatively secret”
Commercial Benefits
Can provide critical barriers to entry
Enforcement…
Enforcement complicated by variation in State law
TRADE SECRET CONT’D
Keep your mouth shut
Confidentiality agreement
Non compete
Non disclosure agreement
Anti reverse engineering clauses
COPYRIGHT
Art, Writing, Music, Movies, software etc…Any “work” reduced to a tangible medium of expression
How ?
ensure your work is properly marked
- Word’ or ‘symbol” i.e “All rights reserved "or “©
- copyright notice
- name of publisher
- year of publisher
COPYRIGHT CONT’D
Register your work
Keep a register of supporting documents i.e drafts, sketches etc
have agreements between co authors
- Termination
- royalty sharing formula
join a copyright collecting society
COPYRIGHT CONT’D
Online Technology that helps protect the cpi.e encoded watermarks
send a bill
cease and desist/ take down notice
Notify infringers hosting services i.e domian tools or whose
hire an attorney
TRADEMARK
“Any word, name, symbol, or device or any combination thereof used by a person or which a person has a bona fide intention to use in commerce and is capable of distinguishing his enterprise from another ”
TRADEMARK CONT’D
Symbols
® - used to indicate a Registered Trademark
™ - used to brand a product
℠ - used to brand a service
Examples Google®
Coke®
Color Brown (UPS)
HOW
Trademark office
Madrid system
PATENT
Classes of Patents
Machine or apparatus for the performance of a task
Process
Manufacture( any fabrication and fabricated product )
Or the composition of matter (any chemical or compound mixture)
PATENT CONT’D
Selecting what to Patent? Business Value:
What is the likely value of the technology?
Will exclusivity provide a competitive advantage?
Does the technology align with your commercial products?
Legal Strength: What is the novelty over prior art?
Business Methods?
Exclusivity: Will competitors have viable design-around options?
Can infringement be detected?
PATENT CONT’D
What is the standard for getting a patent? New
Useful
Non-obvious
What do you get if you meet the standard? Not a right to use the invention
Right to exclude others from the invention for a limited time
What do you give up by getting a patent? You have to teach others how to make and use the invention
What do you risk by not patenting your invention? i.e., trying to keep it a trade secret
Someone else can patent it and exclude you from using it.
PATENT CONT’D
Patent Strategy - Benefits from Patents Monopoly Pricing
Increase profit margins through exclusionary power
Extra Income Generate income through licensing activities
Access to Technology Cross-license to access other technologies
Business Asset Can be used to assist in securing funding or obtaining desired exit valuations
Marketing Tool Patent Pending
Chilling effect on competition
Demonstrated expertise in a particular field
CASE STUDY - APPLE
What sort of IP did Apple take into consideration in launching the iPad?
APPLE CASE STUDY CONT’D
Control of Peripheral Devices Technology
Data Processing Technology
Computer Test Technology
Over 7000 patents
APPLE CASE STUDY CONT’D
Trade Secrets?By definition we cannot know the extent of the technology
within the iPad protected by Trade Secrets
Likely Candidates: Software
OS, Applications, etc…
Processor
A4 chip
A new Apple specific design
TRADE SECRETS / CONTRACT
Contracts…(i.e. Confidentiality Agreements)
Employment Agreements
Suppliers Hardware fabrication
Product Literature
Etc…
Partners
AT&T Verizon
APPLE CASE STUDY CONT’D
Copyright Protected Material…Software
Product Literature
Web Site
Product Images
Icons
User Interface Design
Advertisements
Etc…
THANK YOU