Posted by arnx

by Atty. Jessica Los Baños

Have you ever wondered why some people earn millions even with very little or no products to sell?

The answer lies in the intellectual properties owned by these enterprising geniuses. Intellectual Property (IP) is a bundle of rights vested by law in recognition of one’s intellectual, pioneering, inventive and innovative efforts. IP that are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate and not easily replaced can be a major source of sustainable competitive advantage.

The following are the key elements of intellectual property:

COPYRIGHT

Copyright or economic rights consist of the exclusive right to reproduce a work for sale such as a book, to dramatize, translate or adapt the work as when the book is made into a film, to rent out the work in original or copy in the case of audiovisual or cinematographic work, work in a sound recording, computer program, compilation of data and other materials or musical work in graphic form and other communication of the work to the public. Copyright exists upon the creation of the work and no further act is required for this right to be recognized by others.

TRADE NAME AND TRADEMARKA trade name is a name that identifies and distinguishes the goods, services and business entities from those of others. Famous trade names, such as Jollibee, SMART or Petron, carry great economic value because they represent the goodwill, track record, reputation, quality, or distinctive characteristics of the good, service or enterprise represented. A trademark, on the other hand, is any visible sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of an enterprise. The golden arches of McDonalds is an example of a trademark.

PATENTS AND UTILITY DESIGNS

When you are able to discover any technical solution to a problem in the form of a product, process or an improvement of any or both which is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable, you may apply a patent for your invention.

HARNESSING YOUR IP

You can benefit from your IP by utilizing them yourself or by allowing others to use them and charging license fees and royalties.

The full article appears in the January-February 2007issue of SME Insight, the magazine for small and medium enterprises. For subscriptions, call 759.2022 or 813.4396 loc. 816 or e-mail hipcards@hip.ph.