Intellectual Property - Protecting Innovation, Creativity, and Ownership

🧠 What is Intellectual Property (IP)?

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind.
Unlike physical property (like a house or a chair), IP is intangible but still has value and legal protection.

👉 Think of it as: ideas, creations, identity, and knowledge that can be owned

⚖️ The 5 Main Areas of Intellectual Property Law

Category	What it Protects	Shortcut
Patent	Function / invention	Works
Trademark	Brand identity	Name
Copyright	Creative expression	Content
Trade Secret	Confidential info	Secret
Right of Publicity	Personal identity	Person

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1. © Copyright Law

Protects creative work expression

Must be:

• Original work of authorship
• Fixed in a tangible form/ physical form

Examples:

• Books, music, films
• Photography, paintings
• Software code
• Sculpture

Does NOT protect

• Ideas inside work eg movie script
• Facts
• Methods of operation
• Data in a database but database as whole is protected

Owner:

• Creator (author, artist, programmer)
• Employer (if created in course of employment)

Duration:

• Life of author + 70 years (in most jurisdictions)

Public Domain Works:

Not protected by copyright and can be used freely by anyone

• After copyright expires, work enters public domain and can be used freely by anyone
• A small quantity of work from original work eg. quote from a book

Copyright Infringement

Infringement occurs when someone uses copyrighted work without permission

• Work must be registered to sue for infringement

You need to prove:

1. Someone have access to your work
2. Substantial similarity between your work and infringing work

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2. ™️ Trademark Law

Protects brand identity

“How something is recognized”

• Covers:
  • Names (company/product)
  • Logos
  • Slogans
  • Colors (in some cases)

Examples:

• Brand names like Nike
• Logos like Apple
• Taglines

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3. 📜 Patent Law

Protects inventions and functional ideas

“How something works”

Must be:

• Novel (new)
• Useful
• Non-obvious

Examples:

• Machines (e.g., cotton gin)
• Pharmaceuticals
• Software algorithms (in some jurisdictions)

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4. 🔐 Trade Secret Law

Protects valuable confidential information

• Requirements:
  • Must be secret
  • Must have economic value
  • Must be actively protected

“What is kept secret”

Examples:

• Recipes (e.g., Coca-Cola formula)
• Algorithms
• Business processes

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5. 🎭 Right of Publicity

Protects a person’s:

• Name
• Image
• Voice
• Persona

“Who someone is” Common in:

• Advertising
• Media
• Influencer/celebrity branding