Intellectual Property
Trademarks
Registered Trademarks
• Any sign capable of being represented graphically which is
• capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings
(A brand or badge that distinguished your products or services)
Invented words
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Dictionary words
• Apricot computers
• Seven Eleven or Nine One One
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Letters and numerals
• U2 or UB40
• TG4 or TV3
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Slogans
• Under the tree at SPAR
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Smells
• The strong smell of bitter beer– Applied to flights for darts
• The smell of fresh cut grass– Applied to tennis balls
Logos
Forms of packaging
• One-of-a-kind triangular shape, its peaks, its packaging and its name, it has achieved very high recognition throughout the world.
Shapes
Sounds
• Music for– Everyone’s a fruit and nut case
Images (more appropriate to copyright)
Images
Rights conferred by registration
• Prevent use of an identical or similar mark for identical or similar good or services
• Exceptionally you can prevent of an identical pr similar mark for dissimilar goods or services
Registered Trade Mark
• Different from
– Company name– Business name– Domain name
Which grant no proprietary rights
Registration
• National, European Community and International Registration
• Pre-application searching– To determine any prior conflicting marks
• First to file– Filing date determines rights
Registration stages
• Application
• Examination
• Opposition
• Registration• 12 -18 months to complete
• 10 year duration and can be renewed perpetually
Important practice
• Non-use may lead to loss of registration
• If registered, use ® symbol
• Monitor the marketplace and the Internet
• Subscribe to a watch service
Other protection
• Common law rights: passing-off
Domain Names
• Almost anything can be registered• First come, first served• Exceptions are famous names where only the owner can apply
(Guinness,
• Generic names are not allowed in the .i.e., domain• Real and substantive presence must be proved for
national registration• Need to protect all domain extensions
e.g., .com, .org, .edu, .gov, • consider the Whitehouse
Cyber squatting
• Not permitted to register domain names which might reasonably be expected by specific parties
• It is permitted to register for buying and selling marketable domain names
• Not unlike registering company names
Other Internet IP issues
• Metatag TM infringement or passing-off– Attracting search engine hits from a
competitor’s site by including the competitors trade mark in your metatags.
• Copyright infringement by framing– Incorporating a third party’s web page in your
own
• Deep linking
Value of Trade Marks
• Trade marks are Brands which are core to major international conglomerates
• Independent Newspapers• Diagio
• If this business were split up, I would be glad to take the brands, trademarks and goodwill… and you can have the cash, bricks and mortar…and I would fare better than you.– John Stuart, former Chairman of Quaker Foods
• Alternative it IP protection
DISCLOSURE
The marketing specialists in your organisation would like you to include your competitors’ name and some of their product details as
metatags in your new E-Commerce Web site. Their objective is to attract search engines
away from competitor sites to yours.
Should you include them or not include them?