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Understanding Intellectual Property Issues

The document discusses several key issues related to intellectual property. It begins by explaining how the concept of intellectual property having monetary value and authors having rights to their work are relatively new ideas. It then describes how governments began recognizing intellectual property as a valuable resource. The digital age has increased debate around appropriate intellectual property practices, with views ranging from ideas being completely free to highly protected. The document also provides details on patents, including what constitutes a patent, how patents can block other patents, and examples of types of innovations that can be patented, including algorithms. It closes by listing several facts about patents.

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Shamika Tigade
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7 views2 pages

Understanding Intellectual Property Issues

The document discusses several key issues related to intellectual property. It begins by explaining how the concept of intellectual property having monetary value and authors having rights to their work are relatively new ideas. It then describes how governments began recognizing intellectual property as a valuable resource. The digital age has increased debate around appropriate intellectual property practices, with views ranging from ideas being completely free to highly protected. The document also provides details on patents, including what constitutes a patent, how patents can block other patents, and examples of types of innovations that can be patented, including algorithms. It closes by listing several facts about patents.

Uploaded by

Shamika Tigade
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Issues in Intellectual property

The concept of intellectual property having monetary value, and even the concept that authors
have the right to attribution, are relatively new. We do not know exactly when or who began
the revolution in thinking of intellectual property, but as Gregory Grozdits succinctly phrased
it "most likely it came from whomever was intelligent enough to not share their information."
The concept of intellectual property began to be recognized by various governments as a
valuable resource to reward and cultivate. Laws gradually took shape protecting works for
creators.

The age of digital technology and the greater ease of reproduction has increased the cry for
modifications in intellectual property practices. Views on intellectual property range from the
concept that ideas should be completely free -unprotected and unrestricted, to the belief that
intellectual property should be highly protected.

Issues in patents

Simply, a patent gives its owner the right to prevent others from exploiting one’s invention. It
is a right, granted by the government after an examination of a patent application, to prevent
others from making, using or selling what is covered by the claims of the patent.

A patent is a right to exclude or prevent. Strictly speaking, a patent is not a monopoly. A


patentee has no right to practice what is patented. An example will make this clear. Company
X invents and obtains a patent on the first word processor computer program. The next year,
Company Y improves this technology and obtains a patent on a word processor program with
an automatic spelling corrector. Company Y cannot make or sell what is covered by its own
patent. To do so, Company Y would need to make a word processor, which is covered by
Company X’s patent. Company X has what is called a blocking patent.

A patent is granted to a patentee for an invention. The subject of the patent must be both
novel and involve an inventive step (i.e., generally, is non-obvious). The rules determining
what is new and non-obvious are complex, and to some, appear rather subjective. However,
one does not need to make a major breakthrough to be awarded a patent. Very few patentees
invent the laser or discover the cure for Parkinson’s disease. Most patented inventions are
improvements, some critics of the patent system would say minor improvements, on existing
technology.

In relation to electronic commerce, the following can be protected by patent if new and non-
obvious:

 all types of computer programs and algorithms relating to electronic commerce


 Internet applications
 electronic commerce products
 data processing systems
 hardware devices such as ATMs and card readers
 possibly, new financial products
Importantly, algorithms can be protected by patent. For example, new algorithms for
compression, encryption, searching, indexing or authentication can all be the subject matter
of a patent. A patent on an algorithm can be extremely broad, covering any implementation
of the algorithm, regardless of the computer language, operating system or processor that is
used.

To obtain a patent, one must file an application. The patent application describes how to make and
use the invention, and includes a number of claims that seek to define the legal boundary of the
invention.

the facts about patents:

 software and e-commerce developments can be protected both by patent and


copyright -- copyright is the main form of protection for most software-based
products, and patent can provide additional protection
 one does not need a major breakthrough to obtain a patent -- most inventions are
improvements on existing technology
 patents are territorial -- there is no "world patent"
 a business can infringe a patent even if unaware of the patent or the invention
 a patent lasts for 20 years from the filing date -- use of "older" technology may
infringe an "older" patent
 in most cases, if one infringes a patent, both damages and an injunction will be
awarded to the patent owner -- the patent owner is under no obligation to license the
infringer

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