Sở Hữu Trí Tuệ Là Gì?

Intellectual property is a legal term used in different business fields, especially business laws. If you are interested in business, it is good to know what intellectual property is and how to protect it.

Sở Hữu Trí Tuệ Là Gì?

Intellectual property refers to works that come from your mind. They can be new songs, artwork, inventions, designs, ideas of products, etc. Any property related to your creativity is considered intellectual property.

Should We Protect Intellectual Property?

The answer is YES. Imagine you are a songwriter. It takes you a lot of time and effort to create a song with catchy melodies and lyrics. You know this song will be a hit when you release it. Now, you are waiting for the right moment to release the song. However, one day, you hear a song with the same melodies and lyrics as your song on TV. How would you feel? I would feel angry because somebody just copied my work and used it without my consent. It is unfair when people infringe on your creative works that you had to spend time and give thought to them. Infringers actually do nothing and have everything. As a result, it is very important to protect your intellectual property.

How To Protect Intellectual Property?

Here are three common ways to stop intellectual property thieves.

Trademarks

A trademark is a unique mark, name, symbol, word, phrase, logo, and/or image that belong to your business and help customers recognize your products. Your mark should be specific and moral to describe the characteristics of your company. Nobody can use your trademarked work if you register it. You can put the symbol “®” on your products when you get granted this type of protection.

Each country has different trademark laws, so you should follow the rules and requirements of your place. In the United States, you can register a mark in the Patient Office. Importantly, you must renew your registration between the fifth and sixth years. After the first renewal, you must renew it every 10 years to keep owning your mark.

Copyrights

Copyrights provide creators with the right to control the production or selling of their creative works, such as books, plays, musical compositions, pictures, lectures, etc. Infringers cannot take advantage of other people’s creativity due to copyrights. They must ask for their permission if they want to copy their intellectual property. Your work should be fixed, original, and creative to be copyrightable. Obviously, people need to register their works to be protected. The symbol “©” or the abbreviation “copr.,” represents the copyrighted works, which means unauthorized use will face lawsuits.

Same as trademarks, you should follow your country’s copyright laws to register your creative works. In the United States, people can register by filling a form with the Register of Copyrights and providing two copies of the materials to the Library of Congress. Creators must renew the registration of the copyrighted works after 70 years to keep holding the right to control their works.

Patents

Holding a patent means you can manufacture or sell your creative works for a certain number of years, which means you must renew your registration every 20 years. Being new, useful, and non-obvious are three requirements for getting a patent. You can apply for the patent at the Patient Office in your country. The holders of patents have the right to sue infringers for using their works without their consent. More importantly, holding a patent does not mean you can do whatever you want. You still have to follow the laws. You must not make a typing arrangement to request your customers, who buy your patented products to buy your non-patented products. Another illegal arrangement is cross-licensing, which means you and your partners exchange the patents to use each other’s intellectual property.

Intellectual property is as important as other properties. We must protect our creative works because we work hard for them. Knowing how to protect your intellectual property can help you avoid infringements and lawsuits. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or post them at the diễn đàn. I will be glad to help you.

Reference

Kubasek, N., Browne, M. N., Herron, D. J., Dhooge, L. J., & Barkacs, L. (2019). Dynamic business law: The essentials (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.