What is Intellectual Property?

Posted by Josephine Martin on March 14th, 2018

Intellectual Property is an intangible creation of the mind and can take many forms such as artistic rights, inventions, designs, brand names, software rights and symbols to name a few examples. Intellectual Property is usually protected by law and there is an extensive legislative framework for patents, copyrights, and trademarks. This allows people to gain recognition and enjoy the benefits of their innovations and the legislative framework in place has the aim of encouraging creativity and innovation. There are different types of intellectual property and these are usually broken down into the following:

A patent is rights that give exclusivity to an inventor by a sovereign state or country for a set period in exchange for public disclosure of an invention or inventions. An invention is a new scientific or technological idea and is usually a novel device, method or process. It can be an improvement on a product or process or a completely new and unique process.

A trademark is a sign, design or expression which identifies and distinguishes products or services of a particular type for those of others. A trademark is usually registered in a country and serves to protect the use of that trademark by others. An international trademark registration is a registration on an international level across several jurisdictions.

Copyright is a form of protection within an Intellectual Property law that protects original works of authorship and can take many forms such as literacy, musical and artistic works. It can cover items such as novels, movies, songs, IT software and TV characters. A copyright protection is usually granted for a set period to the creator and once expired, anyone can potentially use or copy the work. As an example, music copyright in the UK is usually protected for 70 years by UK law from the date the music was first published.

Why Should I protect Intellectual Property?

The importance of intellectual property protection should not be underestimated, and intellectual property can be valuable assets for the individual or business. Intellectual property can be financially rewarding because they can give financial revenue streams and can be very lucrative. By protecting the rights to intellectual property, it stops others from copying the intellectual property and depriving the original innovator or inventor of their rightful rewards. In the case of intellectual property that takes the form of a brand, it could set your business apart from competitors.

How can you make money from Intellectual Property?

Intellectual Property can generate revenue streams via licencing or royalty income, but can also give rise to a capital gain if the original intellectual property and rights are sold in its entirety. If the Intellectual Property is in the form of a brand as an example, it may not actually have any direct, tangible revenue streams, but more intangible rewards, such as more customers using your brand because of a perceived impression of better quality than competitors.

How can I protect my Intellectual Property?

One should seek the advice of a specialist intellectual property lawyer or legal firm so that it is clear on that country's registration requirement and whether this is transferable across international boundaries. It is also prudent to seek our financial and taxation advice on how the revenue streams would be treated and how the intellectual property would be treated if it was sold in its entirety for a much higher value.

Source URL:

https://medium.com/@josephinemarti/what-is-intellectual-property-42cb86238e95

About The Author:

The author has been following the latest trends with regards to the Malta Individual Investor Programme and how the programme is contributing to the Maltese economy. In addition, the financial services industry is a major contributor to the island’s GDP with more and more people seeking Malta company formation services.