Intellectual property
("IP") is a form of intangible asset that can be
owned, transferred and licensed. IP
generally includes patents (utility, design, and
plant patents), trademarks, copyrights and trade
secrets, as well as certain additional acts labeled
"unfair competition."
Most forms of
intellectual property can be considered as a
contract between the government and creators. A
basic underlying public policy behind intellectual
property protection is to promote creativity for a
better society. The U.S. Government
provides limited protection to creators in exchange
for a full disclosure and subsequent use of the
creations. The intellectual property
protection law is designed to balance the creator's
economic reward and the benefits that society
receives.
Different categories of
intellectual property protection cover different
aspects of a product or service. Thus,
it is possible to obtain patent, copyright,
trademark, and trade secret protection on the same
item. For example, Ford Motor Company
may acquire various types of protection over an
automobile; utility patents on the
design and manufacture of particular components,
such as the brakes or engine design; design patents
on the ornamental appearance of the car body;
trademarks for the marks "FORD" and "MUSTANG";
copyright protection for advertisements and
literature for the car; and trade secret protection
over any design or marketing information which is
not published or otherwise publicly available. All
of these types of intellectual property coexist
covering various aspects of the single product.
In the U.S., most forms
of intellectual property are governed under federal
law. The U.S. government established
the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) under the
Department of Commerce for administrating issues
relating to the granting of patents and the
registration of trademarks. The U.S.
Copyright Office is established under the Library of
Congress for administrating copyright registration
issues. Federal patent and copyright
law may pre-empt similar state laws. The
U.S. federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over
patents and copyrights and have non-exclusive
federal question jurisdiction over trademark-related
issues. 28 U.S.C. §
1338. Trade secret law and most unfair
competition claims arise under state statutory and
common law.
Intellectual property
protection has played a vital role in promoting
technological development. Because of
the intellectual property protection, individuals
and corporations are more willing to invest in
research and development for new science and
technologies and in the marketing of new products.
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