ABC of Intellectual property
The acquisition, ownership, management, and protection of intellectual property rights are governed by a specific legal field—intellectual property law, which is regulated by the Industrial Property Act and the Copyright and Related Rights Act.
Industrial property law governs the following rights: patents, trademarks, designs, geographical indications, semiconductor topographies, and plant breeders’ rights. Their acquisition requires registration or granting by the competent national (or international) office. In the Republic of Slovenia, this authority is the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office. Ownership of copyright does not require any registration procedure, as copyright arises automatically upon the creation of the copyrighted work.
In addition to these, other forms of intellectual property must be mentioned, which also represent the result of innovative thinking and creation but are not expressed in a form suitable for protection under any of the rights mentioned above. Examples include trade secrets, expertise and experience (know-how), and recipes.
Overview of Intellectual Property Rights
Industrial Property Right
A patent is a right granted for an invention from any field of technology, which must be new, involve an inventive step, and be industrially applicable.
An invention – a product, process, functionality, or technology that solves a specific technical problem.
Up to 20 years
(upon payment of maintenance fees for the patent)
A design is a right that protects the appearance of a product.
The appearance of the product – it must be new and possess an individual character.
5 years
protection can be extended up to a maximum of 25 years
A trademark (product or service mark) is a right that registers any sign or any combination of signs that enable the distinction of goods or services of one company from those of another company and can be represented graphically.
A sign or combination of signs consisting especially of words, including personal names, letters, numbers, figurative elements, three-dimensional shapes, including the shape of goods or packaging, and color combinations.
10 years
protection can be renewed indefinitely (each time for 10 years)
Signs that indicate the origin of goods from a specific geographical area; the characteristics of these goods are essentially dependent on their geographical origin.
Plant Breeders’ Intellectual Property Right
Topography of semiconductor integrated circuits
A device for performing an electronic function, which is an indivisible whole in its final or intermediate form, consisting of one or more interconnected layers with semiconductor elements, at least one of which is active.
Examples of Copyrighted Works
It is an individual intellectual creation in the fields of literature, science, and art, expressed in any form.
Written (including computer programs), spoken, visual, audiovisual, artistic works, databases, etc.
From the creation of the copyrighted work and for 70 years after the author’s death.
Type of informal intellectual property
Know-how – hidden (confidential), intangible but specific knowledge or technology, a set of information, experience, and skills.
Formulations, processes, technologies, and other knowledge that must not be disclosed to the public.
Technical improvements – technical and other innovations or their enhancements that achieve higher efficiency, better quality of products or services, savings in materials or energy, improved utilization of machines and equipment, better production control, improved workplace safety, etc.
Trade secret – any information resulting from the activities of its creator; disclosure to the public (general, research, or business) would cause economic damage to the author.
Data that must remain within an organization are classified as trade secrets. These can include processes, technologies, recipes, and other knowledge that provide a competitive advantage in the market. To maintain a trade secret, proper handling by everyone who knows about it is essential, especially when appropriately marked!
Did you know …?
When we talk about intellectual property rights, we often mention moral and material rights.
Moral (also called personal) rights always belong to the person who created the intellectual property; these rights cannot be transferred by contract or otherwise assigned to anyone other than the creator.
Material (also called economic) rights may belong to a person who did not create the intellectual property themselves but acquired them based on law or contract. For example, rights to employee inventions created at the University of Ljubljana legally belong to the University as the employer, but they can also belong to another person if the material rights have been transferred based on a contract.
