Lesson 4 Intellectual Property Rights

I.Pre-reading What kind of intellectual property rights would a cell phone producer register for? What would he like to protect? II. Read the text about Patents and answer the questions. A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. In order to be patentable, the invention must fulfill certain conditions: it must be new, industrially applicable and involve an inventive step. A patent is granted by a national patent office, a regional office that does the work for a number of countries, such as the European Patent Office and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization, or by an international office- the World Intellectual Property Organization. Patents are valid in individual countries for specified periods, generally 20 years. A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent. This means that the invention cannot be made, used, distributed or sold without the owner's consent. A patent owner has the right to decide who may - or may not - use the patented invention for the period in which the invention is protected. He may give permission to, or license, other parties to use the invention on mutually agreed terms. The owner may also sell the right to the invention to someone else, who will then become the new owner of the patent. Once a patent expires, the protection ends, and the invention enters the public domain, that is, the owner no longer holds exclusive rights to the invention, which becomes available to commercial exploitation by others. All patent owners are obliged, in return for patent protection, to publicly disclose information on their invention in order to enrich the total body of technical knowledge in the world. In this way, patents provide not only protection for the owner but valuable information and inspiration for future generations of researchers and inventors. 1. Which criteria have to be met in order for an invention to be patentable? 2. Where can an inventor apply for a patent? 3. What are the advantages of owning a patent? III. Match column A with column B in order to obtain a description of other intellectual property rights. A 1.Utility models can be registered in some countries 2.Copyright protects against unauthorized copying B a.literary, musical, artistic and dramatic works (including software). b. They are applied to a wide variety of products: from technical and medical instruments to watches, jewelry, and other luxury items; from electrical appliances and vehicles to textile designs and leisure goods. 3.Trademarks are distinctive signs identifying c. to protect technical innovations (usually products brands of products or services. or mechanical items), which might not qualify for a patent. 4.Designs and models protect a product's visual d. They may be made up of two- or threeappearance, i.e. its shape, contours or colour. dimensional components such as letters, numbers,

words, drawings, shapes, logos, pictures, colors, or even sounds.

IV. Mention the intellectual property rights, which protect the following characteristics of a Nokia cell phone. 1. 2. 3. 4. ________ phone shape ________"NOKIA", start-up tone, animated sequence of two hands connecting ________ software, ringtones & images ________ technology to produce and operate

V. Read about trademarks and decide for which type of products are the words Apple, Orange and Lotus registered and for which type of products they can never be registered. A trademark is a distinctive sign which identifies certain goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. Its origin dates back to ancient times, when craftsmen reproduced their signatures, or "marks" on their artistic or utilitarian products. Over the years these marks evolved into today's system of trademark registration and protection. The system helps consumers identify and purchase a product or service because its nature and quality, indicated by its unique trademark, meets their needs. A trademark provides protection to the owner of the mark by ensuring the exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services, or to authorize someone to use it in return for payment. Trademark protection also hinders the efforts of unfair competitors, such as counterfeiters, to use similar distinctive signs to market inferior or different products or services. VI. Fill in the blanks with one of the words given. previously devastating producing operating counterfeiting

Over the last decade, the __1__ and piracy phenomenon has risen to very dangerous dimensions and has become one of the most __2__ problems facing world business. With direct links to organized crime, counterfeiters have become extremely skilled entrepreneurs __3__ on a global scale. Counterfeiters make expert use of current technology and trade and succeed in __4__ every imaginable type of fake. Where __5__ only luxury goods, fashion and music and film products fell victim, nowadays, counterfeiting affects foodstuffs, cosmetics, hygiene products, medicine and spare parts of cars, toys and various types of technical and electronic equipment. VII. Comment on the following statement. The Intellectual Property system rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest. Vocabulary *Some useful words and expressions: intellectual property right patent utility model trade mark

to license to disclose to counterfeit to hinder

!Remember *The Present Perfect is used to show that something happened at an unspecified time in the past; it happened several times in the past or started at a specific time in the past and continues now. Over the last decade, counterfeiting has risen to dangerous dimensions. John has worked in Britain for three years. He hasnt cleaned the car yet. VI. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the given verbs (present perfect, past simple or present simple). 1. He (not work) on his project since January. 2. She (submit) her resignation letter last month. 3. Tom just (register) his trademark. 4. They (not decide) yet to sell the patent. 5. It (be) important to know what inventions and patents (be). 6. The international intellectual property system (reward) creativity, (stimulate) innovation and (contribute) to economic development. 7. I (not write) a letter for ages. 8. In ancient times, craftsmen (engrave) their signatures on their products. 9. I never (be) to Luxembourg. 10. I (not meet) Dan lately.