Module 5
Designs, trade secrets and other rights: appearance, confidential information, geographical indications, databases, passing off and personality
Three rights get most of the attention: copyright, patents and trade marks. But a great deal of business value sits in other places. The shape of a chair is protected by design law. A recipe or a customer list is protected, if at all, as a trade secret. The name of a cheese is protected as a geographical indication. A database costing millions to build may have its own right in the European Union. And when none of these rights fit, courts sometimes protect reputation through passing off, or a person’s name and image through personality rights. This module sets out these rights, what each requires, what each lets the owner control, and how they interact with the three main rights.
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See what is included in All-Access →General education on intellectual property law, using invented businesses, people and figures. It states common principles in simplified form and does not describe any one country’s law, which differs and changes; rules on registration, ownership, infringement and remedies are strict and local. It is not legal advice. Consult a qualified lawyer in the place that matters.
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