Лекция: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENTS
Original creative works, inventions that have economic value are protectedby law. Intellectual property laws reward the creators of original works by preventing others from copying, performingor distributing those works without permission. They also provide incentives for people to produce scientific and creative works that benefit society at large. Some types of intellectual property are automatically protected by law from the moment of their creation. Other types require a specific grant of rights from a government agency before they may be protected by law. Nearly all nations have laws protecting intellectual property. However, some nations do not vigorously enforce intellectual property laws, making counterfeiting a major problem in these areas. Infringements of intellectual property are ruinous for any country’s economy.
Intellectual property is a peculiar type of property. It is considered “intangible”, that is, you can’t touch it. There are four general types of intellectual property: patents, trademarks and trade dress, copyrights and trade secrets.
A patent is an exclusive right to make, use, and sell a new and useful process, machine, or product, granted to the inventor for a certain period of time.
Violation of patent law occurs when someone else is making, using, or selling the invention described in the patent without the patent holder’s permission.
A trademark is a distinctive word, phrase, logo, an Internet domain name, a graphic symbol, a slogan or other device that is used to identify the origin of a product and to distinguish a manufacturer’s products from others. Infringement of trademark is unauthorized use of a protected trademark, either entirely or to a substantial degree, or use something very similar to a protected mark.
A copyright is the exclusive right to print, reproduce, sell, exhibit written material, a musical composition, an art work, photographs, movies, TV programs or data systems. Infringement is any unauthorized use of a copyrighted work.
A trade secret is a business process or information that can’t be patented, copyrighted or trademarked, and that must be protected from disclosure. Infringement of trade secret occurs if someone unlawfully gets hold of a trade secret and uses it in his own interests.
Crimes related to IP Rights infringement are espionage, fraud, forgery, theft, counterfeiting and piracy, passing-off and trafficking.