IP Protection
Patent
Protects inventions that offer solutions to technical problems
Industrial Design
Protects ornamental or aesthetic aspects of industrial products
Trademark
Protects distinctive signs which identify certain goods or services
Copyright
Protects original expressions of ideas reduced to material forms
PINTAS Intellectual Property (IP) Protection Services
IP Protect Module entails identification and capturing of vital intellectual capital and knowledge developed by a company in the course of its operations. These critical intellectual capital or knowledge which contributes to overall competitive advantage of the company can be owned in the forms of patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs or trade secrets depending on the nature of the knowledge. The challenge of IP Protect Module is to identify the sum total of knowledge or intellectual capital of an organisation, capture and codify the knowledge to become intellectual assets of the organisation and eventually selective protect the intellectual assets so that they become proprietary of the oganisation as illustrated by the Diagram 2.3.1 above
The Table below summarises the different categories of intellectual property assets protectable by the intellectual property system. In essence, intellectual property system protects intangible assets which are the fruit of creative or innovative capacities of the mind and grants the owner the exclusive rights to commercially exploit the assets for a limited duration of time.
Nature | Functions | Types | Duration of Protection | International Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Patent | Protects
inventions, ie
products or
processes that
offers technical
solution to a
problem | a) Article of
manufacture b) Process c) Machine d) composition of matter | 20 years from
filing date of
patent | a) PCT Filing b) Paris Convention Filing |
Trademark | Protects
distinctive sign
which identifies
certain goods or
problem | a) Product Mark (TM) b) Service mark (SM) | 10 years from
filing date of trademark | a) Madrid
Trademark b) Paris Convention Filing |
Industrial Design | Protects
ornamental or
aesthetic aspect
of industrial
products | a) 3-dimensional
features, eg:shape
or surface b) 2-dimensional features, eg:-patterns or lines | Initial 5 years
and can be
renewed, in
most cases for
15 years | a) Hague Design b) Paris Convention Filing |
Copyright | Protects original
expression of
ideas
reduced to
material forms. | 1. literary works 2. artistic works 3. musical works 4. sound recordings 5. performing right | Usually 50
years after the
death of the
authors | Berne Convention |