A generic term used to describe the legal protection available to the tangible expression of an idea. It is a collective term for the various types of IPR’s that exist; Copyright, Trade Marks, Patents, Designs Rights and Trade Secrets. Also referred to as IP, or IPR.
The The IPR system represents a system of reward for creativity, though is used commercially as a ‘competitive advantage’[3] as it prevents competitors from copying their products. From a social perspective, IPR’s stimulate innovation – because they prevent people from copying others ideas, it means they then have to find an alternative way of doing the same thing.

Copyright
Is an un-registered right there is no official database of works. It applies to: literary, dramatic, artistic and musical works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts and published editions of a work. Exists automatically in an original work – one it is expressed in a tangible format (i.e written down, typed, recorded) and lasts for 70 years after the death of the author, Copyright allows the owner to prevent anyone from copying their protected work exactly (or a substantial part of it). For example – you cannot copy your lecture notes without the permission of the author.

© is not technically required to identify a work as being protected by Copyright, but it’s a useful way of signifying the owner and the year it was created (i.e © University of Sussex 2004).

Trade Marks
 “Any sign that is capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing the goods and services of one undertaking from those of another”

This is a registered right – you must apply to the Trade Marks Office. Once granted, it is renewable every 10 years in perpetuity. A Trade Mark has to be registered against a given ‘class’ of goods or services (these ‘classes’ are predefined) – there are 45 different types, for example “Harry Potter” is registered against; figurines, paper and cardboard goods, games, combs & brushes, entertainment services.

A Trade Mark must be distinctive, and it must be capable of graphical representation. A Trade Mark must not, however, indicate the origin or kind of good. ® or RTM must be used where a Registered Trade Mark is used and the owner expects others to respect that right. Tm – effectively means nothing other than the owner is stating the mark is being used as a trade mark, but normally means that they’ve not been able to register a Trade Mark for various reasons.

Patents
Patents are a registered right – you must apply to the UK Patent Office.

A Patent is effectively a right, granted by the state to the owner, to be able to dictate who is allowed to use their technology, for a period of up to 20 years.

Patents are a territorial right, like other IP rights, so a patent that is valid in the UK is not necessarily valid in the US, unless a corresponding patent has been granted by the US patent office.

For a patent to be granted, the technology it protects must be novel (i.e new, no-one must have thought of it before), it must involve an inventive step (i.e it must advance the scientific area it is from – so it cannot be obvious to someone who is skilled in that particular area of technology), and it must be capable of industrial application (so it must have a commercial use). Technologies which cannot be patented are discoveries (so genes and penicillin are disallowed), anything offensive or immoral, and anything that is protected via other Intellectual Property Rights.

The case of patenting software is contentious – currently, software is not patentable material in the UK. The US patent system works on a different basis, this software is patentable in the US – but this means anyone outside the US can use the software unhindered – so what would be the point of paying for protection in one country only? Currently advice issued by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (a division of the World Trade Organisation) regarding patenting software is that if the software enables a technical effect, then it may be patentable.

Designs & Design Right
 
There are two types of law that protect designs;
 
Design Right
Uses the same principles of Copyright law – it is unregistered, exists as soon as an original work is expressed in a tangible format and lasts for 50 years after the death of the author.

It applies to “aspects of, or features applied to an article, not the article itself” – for example, a decorative pattern when applied to a product. Though the pattern on wallpaper does not qualify – though this would probably be protected through either copyright or registered design right.
 
Registered Designs
Uses the same principles of Patent law – it is a registered right and you must apply to the Patent Office (which houses the Designs Registry). It lasts for a maximum of 25 years.

It applies to “the appearance of the whole, or part of, a product resulting from the features which are designed specifically to appeal to the eye” – i.e the shape of a car. The shape of a new exhaust would not qualify.

Trade Secrets
Trade secrets are just that – a secret. They are not protected by any law other than confidentiality (which legally runs alongside intellectual property law). It may appear to be a weak ‘right’ but some companies have founded their business on a trade secret – Coca Cola and KFC being two of them.