“Intellectual PropertyWhat's that got to do with Me ?”

This seminar demonstrates how important it it to protect creativity. It looks at what intellectual property is and identifies what it means to D&T students. The seminar covers trade marks, registered design, patents and copyright. Examples from big brand owners show how innovative companies make the best possible use of their intellectual property.

The Importance of IP‘intellectual property is the

oil of the 21st century’Mark Getty The Economist

But what’s it got to do with me?

We all use Intellectual Property but we need to identify the different types and how to protect it.

The Importance of IP•Protection –

through Patents, Trade Marks

Registered Designsand Copyright

•Knowledge - Patents are also a source of technical

information and commercial intelligence

Case Study 1 – BBC ‘Pop Idol’

•The name, Pop Idol, the logo, the set, the theme music, even the running order of the show are all

protected under intellectual property laws

•Original, pioneering format produced compulsive viewing. Incredibly popular in both the first and second series

•Richard Branson started by producing a magazine called

Student then a mail order discount record company.

•Now Virgin is a global brand made up of over 200 companies including

Virgin Megastores, Virgin Cosmetics, Virgin Atlantic and

Radio Free Virgin.•Fiercely protective of their “Virgin Red”

Case Study 2 - Virgin

Case Study 3 - Adidas

•Adolf Dasler began making sports shoes in 1920

•The famous “three stripes” was registered as a trade mark in 1949 and

was the first worldwide logo

•Adidas now sell over 80 million sports shoes each season

•They have registered over 700 patents including the ones protecting the a3

system and its distinctive heel unit

Case Study 4 - Audi

•Audi is an internationally renowned manufacturer of high quality cars

•The TT is an innovative and stylish car with absolute attention given to

even the smallest design detail

•The TT’s design is registered so no other company can copy the external

appearance of the car

•Various patents have been granted for special production methods

including the spraying of protective film on the vehicle

Trade Marks

A Registered Trade Mark is...

•Any sign which is capable of being represented graphically

•Any sign which is capable of distinguishing the goods or servicesof one undertaking from another

“A Badge of Origin”

A Registered Trade Mark is...

The most powerful piece of advertising a company can get

What can be registered?

Music

Colour

Shape

Domain name

Slogan

Name Logo

Slogans as Registered Trade Marks

Gillette ® , The Best a Man can Get TM

However, Mr Kipling ® since 1984, but

Exceedingly Good Cakes ® since 1994

Colours as Registered Trade Marks• Green - as applied to leaded petrol at petrol filling stations• Yellow - in relation to roadside rescue services

• Purple - in relation tomilk chocolate

Shapes as Registered Trade Marks

Music as Registered Trade MarksTM 2000778

•This piece of music is easily recognised and is used in many different

advertisements where an Intel Pentium Processor is incorporated.

•It is a registered trade mark

How much is a brand worth?Invisible assets which include Trade Marks

Coca Cola - 96% $ 158.2 bnKellogg’s - 97% $ 18.8 bn

BP - 71% $ 53.9 bn

Why infringement searches?•Avoid expensive mistakes•Awareness of competing marks•Early resolution of potential problems

Design Registration No 2081155

Registered Designs

Adidas® predator®

football bootsDesign Registration

No 2104673

GB 1323738

Registered Designs

Protects shape or configuration (3-D)and/or pattern or ornamentation (2-D)

No protection for function, materialsor technology of manufacture

No protection when form is dictatedby function (ie: no design freedom)

Criteria for ‘patentability’

Patents are for “technological innovation”, though the Patents Act 1977 fails to define the word “invention”

Inventions must be new - not known anywhere in the world prior to the filing date

Inventions must have an ‘inventive step’ - not obvious, a simple adaptation or combination

Inventions must be industrially applicable and have a ‘technical effect’

What is a Patent ??

State Inventor

A Bargain

FeesTechnical Description

Exclusive Rights20 years

Citations v. novelty: “Prior art”Paul Graham USHER

Patent No GB 2117179 APriority date: 18 March 1982

The BEANONo. 2015 page 128 February 1981

Using Patent Information

Use of patent information is totally separate from obtaining & enforcing legal rights through patents

Patent information can solve problems and provide new insights

Avoid reinventing the wheel: 30% of European R&D is wasted on technology already in patents

Enables you to keep track of your competitors

Why Use Patent Information?

Huge information source - 45 million patents

Unique information - 80% of technological disclosure in patents appears nowhere else

Early publication - within 18 months of first filing

Free technology - 85% of UK patents not in force

What Copyright protectsBooks, technical reports, Manuals, Databases

Engineering, technical or Architectural Plans

Paintings, Sculptures, Photographs, Plays, Music, Songs, Dramatic works,

AdvertisingPromotional literature, Computer softwareFilms, Videos, Cable or Radio broadcasts

• Copyright is an empowering right which promotes creativity and

allows creators to profit from their work

Who owns Copyright?Usually the first creator or author...

…or their employer if produced in theordinary course of their employment

Protecting your CopyrightBooby-trap your work to prove copying, eg:

MapsMailing-listsDatabasesSoftware

An example:•Carson Parks – writer of “Something Stupid”•Written in 1966 for Frank & Nancy Sinatra•£180,000 a year in royalties since 1967•£6 Million over the period•Covered by over 250 artists•8.5% of each record sale + small fee per radio play

•In 2001 played over 3 million times•Revived once more by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman when it was number one again

Registered Design

Copyright: labels & artwork

® Registered Trade Mark

‘TM’ unregistered

Patents: several dozen!

Bringing it all together

www.patent.gov.ukwww.intellectual-property.gov.uk

Central Enquiry Unit: 08459 500 505