HOW & WHERE TO PROTECT YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Presented by Yahaya Maikori

AGENDA

What is intellectual Property ?

Why should I care

Types of IP protection

Case study

WHAT IS IP?

“IP is a group of legal rights that provides protection over things that people create or invent “.

WHY SHOULD YOU(OR I ) CARE

IP can attract investments

Deter others from stealing our ideas

Deter other from entering the market

defend as the patent portfolio

Defend against other patent portfolios

License or trade with other

Provide alternative source of income

TYPES OF IP & HOW TO PROTECT THEM (OTHERS)

Company registration

Domain name

Social Media Account - Twitter, linked etc

***UDRPs (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy)

TRADE SECRETS

Have economic value because it is not known to your competitors, it includes know how, database, contact list, trade secrets,recipes it is confidential in nature and the owner has made effort to protect it .

Formula for Coca-Cola (Coke™)Decided not to patent to keep secret FOREVER…KFC’s secret recipeOnly 3 executives have access to the recipe

Anti engineering clausesThey supplement both the copyright and patent laws and in case where ideas have not developed sufficiently to Protects know how, database, contact list, trade secrets its built entirely on vase law and the info must be of a confidential nature and the

owner has made eeforst ot protect it   

TRADE SECRETS CONT’D

Relatively low cost to gain protection

Some consider it practically free

Must take precautions to maintain secrecy

Protection lasts as long as the secret remains a secret

protects information/knowledge that can be kept “relatively secret”

Commercial Benefits

Can provide critical barriers to entry

Enforcement…

Enforcement complicated by variation in State law

TRADE SECRET CONT’D

Keep your mouth shut

Confidentiality agreement

Non compete

Non disclosure agreement

Anti reverse engineering clauses

COPYRIGHT

Art, Writing, Music, Movies, software etc…Any “work” reduced to a tangible medium of expression

How ?

ensure your work is properly marked

- Word’ or ‘symbol” i.e “All rights reserved "or “©

- copyright notice

- name of publisher

- year of publisher

COPYRIGHT CONT’D

Register your work

Keep a register of supporting documents i.e drafts, sketches etc

have agreements between co authors

- Termination

- royalty sharing formula

join a copyright collecting society

COPYRIGHT CONT’D

Online Technology that helps protect the cpi.e encoded watermarks

send a bill

cease and desist/ take down notice

Notify infringers hosting services i.e domian tools or whose

hire an attorney

TRADEMARK

“Any word, name, symbol, or device or any combination thereof used by a person or which a person has a bona fide intention to use in commerce and is capable of distinguishing his enterprise from another ”

TRADEMARK CONT’D

Symbols

® - used to indicate a Registered Trademark

™ - used to brand a product

℠ - used to brand a service

Examples Google®

Coke®

Color Brown (UPS)

HOW

Trademark office

Madrid system

PATENT

Classes of Patents

Machine or apparatus for the performance of a task

Process

Manufacture( any fabrication and fabricated product )

Or the composition of matter (any chemical or compound mixture)

PATENT CONT’D

Selecting what to Patent? Business Value:

What is the likely value of the technology?

Will exclusivity provide a competitive advantage?

Does the technology align with your commercial products?

Legal Strength: What is the novelty over prior art?

Business Methods?

Exclusivity: Will competitors have viable design-around options?

Can infringement be detected?

PATENT CONT’D

What is the standard for getting a patent? New

Useful

Non-obvious

What do you get if you meet the standard? Not a right to use the invention

Right to exclude others from the invention for a limited time

What do you give up by getting a patent? You have to teach others how to make and use the invention

What do you risk by not patenting your invention? i.e., trying to keep it a trade secret

Someone else can patent it and exclude you from using it.

PATENT CONT’D

Patent Strategy - Benefits from Patents Monopoly Pricing

Increase profit margins through exclusionary power

Extra Income Generate income through licensing activities

Access to Technology Cross-license to access other technologies

Business Asset Can be used to assist in securing funding or obtaining desired exit valuations

Marketing Tool Patent Pending

Chilling effect on competition

Demonstrated expertise in a particular field

CASE STUDY - APPLE

What sort of IP did Apple take into consideration in launching the iPad?

APPLE CASE STUDY CONT’D

Control of Peripheral Devices Technology

Data Processing Technology

Computer Test Technology

Over 7000 patents

APPLE CASE STUDY CONT’D

Trade Secrets?By definition we cannot know the extent of the technology

within the iPad protected by Trade Secrets

Likely Candidates: Software

OS, Applications, etc…

Processor

A4 chip

A new Apple specific design

TRADE SECRETS / CONTRACT

Contracts…(i.e. Confidentiality Agreements)

Employment Agreements

Suppliers Hardware fabrication

Product Literature

Etc…

Partners

AT&T Verizon

APPLE CASE STUDY CONT’D

Copyright Protected Material…Software

Product Literature

Web Site

Product Images

Icons

User Interface Design

Advertisements

Etc…

THANK YOU