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PATENT, TRADEMARK, DESIGN, COPYRIGHT & DOMAIN NAME RESOURCES

Patents are intellectual property rights that protect inventions of a technical nature. Thus, a patent may, in principle, be granted for a technical creation which provides a technological advance, in contrast to, for example, a purely aesthetic creation such as a painting or musical work.

In order to obtain a patent for an invention in practice, the invention must be new and inventive over any matter known before the filing date of the application (known as the “state of the art”). In the UK, Europe, and many other countries, in order for an invention to be regarded as new it must not have been disclosed to anyone anywhere in the world before the date of filing the application for a patent. Accordingly, a non-confidential disclosure of an invention prior to filing a patent application may render the invention unpatentable, even if the disclosure was made by the inventor, or other owner of the invention.

A patent affords its owner the right to prevent third parties commercially exploiting the invention, and can potentially last for 20 years from the filing date of the application for the patent, subject to payment of annual renewal fees.

A typical patent application is a lengthy and complex legal document, which must meet certain legal criteria if a patent is to be granted. Accordingly, a patent application must be drafted with the appropriate skill and knowledge if a patent is to be granted, and the invention is to be fully protected. Prosecution of a patent application is a complex and lengthy legal process, typically taking 4 to 5 years. For these reasons, the UK Patent Office recommends that inventors considering patent protection for their inventions seek advice from a qualified Patent Attorney.

Patent Attorneys can help by advising on whether an invention can be patented; conduct searches to ascertain novelty or possible infringement; process applications; advise on patent licensing; advise on how to avoid infringing third party patents. They can also help bring action against those that infringe your rights or seek to revoke your patent or help to oppose patents being granted to other third parties that might affect your own.

A trade mark may be any sign (for example, words, letters, numerals, or devices (logos)), which is used in relation to a trader’s goods or services, for the purpose of distinguishing those goods or services from goods or services provided by other parties. Through use of a trade mark, a reputation may accrue in the mark which can influence consumers to purchase those goods or services in preference to those of another party solely because of the identifying trade mark.

A trade mark may be protected by registration, and to register a trade mark in the UK, a trade mark application must be filed at the UK Trade Marks Registry. A trade mark is registered in respect of certain goods or services on which it is intended to use the mark, and these goods and services must be specified on filing. Registration of the trade mark affords its owner the exclusive right to use the trade mark in relation to the goods and/or services specified in the registration.

To be registrable, a trade mark must not be identical or confusingly similar to any earlier trade mark or other earlier right, and accordingly it is advisable to have a search conducted prior to filing a trade mark application to determine whether there exist any earlier, potentially conflicting trade marks. In addition, to be registrable, a trade mark must also be inherently registrable (i.e. capable of distinguishing the goods and services from those of other parties, not devoid of distinctive character, and not purely descriptive of the nature of the goods/services that are to be provided under the mark, amongst other things). A trade mark which is directly descriptive of the goods which are to be provided thereunder is unlikely to be registrable (without significant evidence of distinctiveness acquired through use of the mark before the filing date of the application). Thus, trade marks comprising made-up words, or words which merely allude to, rather than directly describe, the nature of the goods are generally more easily registrable than descriptive words or words commonly used in the trade.

Registered trade mark protection may be obtained in all the countries of the European Union by filing a Community Trade Mark (CTM) application.

It is also possible to obtain registered trade mark protection by filing an International trade mark application. Unlike a CTM application which is a unitary right which automatically covers the whole of the European Union, an applicant may choose which countries to include in an International trade mark application.

The design of products involves considerable skill and care if a pleasing shape or pattern is to be produced that will appeal to customers.

A design can be protected by means of a registered design. A registered design is a property right that protects the aesthetic appearance of an article, and hence has relevance in cases where a product may lack a technical aspect, but nevertheless incorporates new features which are appealing to the eye. The recently introduced Registered European Community Design provides a new avenue by which registered design protection may be obtained across the European Community.

A design can also be protected by means of unregistered design right. This is a more limited form of protection, but can be of use where a competitor is directly copying a feature of an original design.

Patent attorneys can help by advising on whether a trademark or design can be registered in the first instance or look at alternative protection strategies. They can do the necessary searches to check availability or advise on how to avoid third party infringement, as well as processing an application. In addition they can bring action against those that infringe or challenge your rights.

Copyright is an intellectual property right for the protection of original aesthetic creations, such as literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works.

There is no official registration procedure for establishing copyright (an exception being the US): copyright comes into existence when the work is created. However, it is advisable to have some form of documentary proof to establish when the work came into existence, should another person try to assert an earlier claim to a substantially identical work. Such proof could be obtained, for example, by sending yourself a hardcopy of the work by recorded delivery mail, or by depositing a copy of the work with a bank.

The scope of protection conferred by copyright is narrow, in that it only allows the copyright owner to prevent direct copying of the work. Accordingly, if another person arrived at a substantially identical work independently, then there would be no infringement of copyright.

Most copyright lasts for 70 years starting from the end of the year in which the creator of the work dies.

A domain name is an address to access a site on the World Wide Web. There are various levels of domain names, for example top level domain names such as .com or .org or country level domain names such as .co.uk or .tv. The top level domain names are regulated by a body called Verisign, and the country level domain names are regulated by national registries. In the UK, the national registry is called Nominet. National registries have their own regulations (e.g. in certain countries a company registration for an identical name to the domain name is required before registration of the domain name can take place).

It is important to note taht owning a registered trade mark does not provideyou with an automatic right to the domain name. It is also important to note that the use of a domain name can infringe the rights of a third party which owns a registered trade mark for an identical or similar mark to the domain name.

Specialist organisations can help advise on whether a domain name can be registered, check for possible conflicts and handle the registration and any infringements. They can also help on the overall domain name registration strategy which may for instance be especially relevant to those with ranges of products and expanding portfolios.