April 11, 2011

Objective: Students will identify the important of protecting intellectual

property.

Brainstorm

• With a partner discuss and be ready to share– “What is intellectual property”

Intellectual Property• Intellectual Property is a form of legal

entitlement which allows its holder to control the use of certain intangible ideas and expressions.

• The term intellectual property reflects the idea that once established, such entitlements are generally treated by courts, especially in common law jurisdictions, as if they were tangible property.

• The most common forms of intellectual property include patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets.

Ways to Protect Your Ideas

• Disclosure Letter• Journal• Copyright• Trademark• Patent• Contracts• Hiring and Attorney

Disclosure Letter

• The disclosure letter outlines your idea, detailing the research and work you have done to date, and the people you contacted when doing your research.

• Date the letter and have it notarized• Place the letter in a sealed envelope and file it

in a safe place

Journal• Just having a date isn’t always enough, you must

provide your business is active• A journal provides you with an ongoing record of

business activities• To be considered a legal document your journal must:– Must be a bound book (not loose pages)– Have numbered pages (with no missing pages)– Be written in ink– Contain no erasures (if you make a mistake draw a line

through it and initial)• Include information about people you’ve spoke to and

dates and locations of meetings.

Copyright• Copyright is a legal protection provided to the “original

works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible form of expression”– Literary works– Musical works (including any words)– Dramatic works– Pantomimes and choreographic works– Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works– Motion pictures and other audiovisual works– Sound recordings– Architectural works– Electronic media

Trademark

• This is a distinctive word, phrase logo, Internet domain name, graphic symbol, or other devise used to identify the source of a product and distinguish the manufacturer or merchant’s products from others.

Patent

• A patent grants rights to an invention to the inventor. • This prohibits others from making, using, selling,

offering for sale, or importing the invention into the United States for a period of up to 20 years from the date of filing the application.

• In order to get a patent the invention must be:– Novel: unique, new, and never before created– Useful: it must accomplish something and/or serve some

purpose– Nonobvious: it is considered nonobvious if someone

skilled in that particular field of interest would view it as an unexpected or surprising development.

Contract

• A contract is an agreement between two or more people, which creates an obligation to do or not to do something in exchange for money or some other consideration. – A verbal contract can be legally enforceable but

it’s always best to have written documentation

Hiring an Attorney

• An attorney is expensive, but by hiring an attorney today you will hopefully avoid future legal expense.

Assignment 8.3

• Write a short essay describing in detail the terms:– Copyright– Patent– Trademark

Assignment 8.4

• Considering the notes from BOTH 8.3 and 8.4 create a 250 word essay containing 3 examples of how YOU PLAN to protect and legally operate your business.

• There are many examples discussed in these chapters, what areas pertain to your business model?