Intellectual Property

Trademarks

Registered Trademarks

• Any sign capable of being represented graphically which is

• capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings

(A brand or badge that distinguished your products or services)

Invented words

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Dictionary words

• Apricot computers

• Seven Eleven or Nine One One

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Letters and numerals

• U2 or UB40

• TG4 or TV3

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Slogans

• Under the tree at SPAR

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Smells

• The strong smell of bitter beer– Applied to flights for darts

• The smell of fresh cut grass– Applied to tennis balls

Logos

Forms of packaging

• One-of-a-kind triangular shape, its peaks, its packaging and its name, it has achieved very high recognition throughout the world.

Shapes

Sounds

• Music for– Everyone’s a fruit and nut case

Images (more appropriate to copyright)

Images

Rights conferred by registration

• Prevent use of an identical or similar mark for identical or similar good or services

• Exceptionally you can prevent of an identical pr similar mark for dissimilar goods or services

Registered Trade Mark

• Different from

– Company name– Business name– Domain name

Which grant no proprietary rights

Registration

• National, European Community and International Registration

• Pre-application searching– To determine any prior conflicting marks

• First to file– Filing date determines rights

Registration stages

• Application

• Examination

• Opposition

• Registration• 12 -18 months to complete

• 10 year duration and can be renewed perpetually

Important practice

• Non-use may lead to loss of registration

• If registered, use ® symbol

• Monitor the marketplace and the Internet

• Subscribe to a watch service

Other protection

• Common law rights: passing-off

Domain Names

• Almost anything can be registered• First come, first served• Exceptions are famous names where only the owner can apply

(Guinness,

• Generic names are not allowed in the .i.e., domain• Real and substantive presence must be proved for

national registration• Need to protect all domain extensions

e.g., .com, .org, .edu, .gov, • consider the Whitehouse

Cyber squatting

• Not permitted to register domain names which might reasonably be expected by specific parties

• It is permitted to register for buying and selling marketable domain names

• Not unlike registering company names

Other Internet IP issues

• Metatag TM infringement or passing-off– Attracting search engine hits from a

competitor’s site by including the competitors trade mark in your metatags.

• Copyright infringement by framing– Incorporating a third party’s web page in your

own

• Deep linking

Value of Trade Marks

• Trade marks are Brands which are core to major international conglomerates

• Independent Newspapers• Diagio

• If this business were split up, I would be glad to take the brands, trademarks and goodwill… and you can have the cash, bricks and mortar…and I would fare better than you.– John Stuart, former Chairman of Quaker Foods

• Alternative it IP protection

DISCLOSURE

The marketing specialists in your organisation would like you to include your competitors’ name and some of their product details as

metatags in your new E-Commerce Web site. Their objective is to attract search engines

away from competitor sites to yours.

Should you include them or not include them?