Module 1
The map of intellectual property: what it protects, why, the main rights, territoriality and the international and European framework
Most of the value in a modern business is not in its buildings or stock. It is in a brand, a piece of software, a design, a formula, a film, a customer list. These things can be copied at almost no cost, and the copier does not take anything away from the original, which is why ordinary property law does not protect them well. Intellectual property law creates special rights over them, for limited periods and for particular purposes. There are several different rights, each with its own subject, test, duration and way of arising, and the biggest source of error is confusing them. This module draws the map: why the law protects intangible creations, which rights exist, which must be registered, why they stop at borders, and how treaties and the European Union join them up.
By the end of this module you can
- Explain why the law protects intangible creations, and its limits.
- Name the main rights and say what each protects.
- Tell registered from unregistered rights, and say how long each lasts.
- Explain territoriality and the role of treaties.
- Describe the European layer of protection.
Part 1. The lecture
Why the law protects intangible creations
A farmer’s apple can be eaten by only one person. A song can be sung by everyone at once. Economists call goods like the song non-rivalrous: one person’s use does not stop another’s. They are also hard to exclude people from once they are published. The result is a problem: if copying is free, few will spend years creating, because a copier can sell the result without paying for the effort. Intellectual property rights try to solve this by giving the creator a temporary, limited right to stop copying.
| Justification | Idea | Where it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Incentive (utilitarian) | Rights encourage creation and investment, which benefits society | Limited terms, exceptions for the public interest, and the need for novelty in patents |
| Natural rights (labour) | A person owns the fruits of their work | Authors’ rights and the idea that copying is a kind of theft |
| Personality | A work expresses its creator, who has a bond with it | Moral rights of attribution and integrity in civil-law systems |
| Fair competition and consumer protection | Customers should not be misled about who made a product | Trade marks, passing off and unfair competition |
The law also limits these rights, because creation builds on earlier work and because too much protection stops new creation. Every right has a limited term, a defined subject, exceptions (such as quotation, research and parody) and a requirement that the owner use or defend it. A good IP lawyer always asks two questions: what does this right protect, and what does it deliberately leave free?
The main rights
| Right | What it protects | How it arises | Typical term (varies by place) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright | Original works of authorship: writing, music, art, film, software, databases’ structure | Automatically on creation, with no registration (some countries offer an optional register) | Life of the author plus decades, often seventy years |
| Patent | New, inventive and useful technical inventions: products and processes | By application, examination and grant | Twenty years from filing |
| Trade mark | Signs that identify the source of goods or services: names, logos, shapes, sounds | By use (unregistered rights in some places) and by registration | Registration lasts ten years in many systems and can be renewed forever, while the mark is used |
| Design | The appearance of a product: shape, lines, colour, ornament | By registration, and in some places automatically for a shorter period | Up to twenty-five years in some systems, with unregistered rights of about three years in others |
| Trade secret (confidential information) | Information that is secret, valuable because it is secret and protected by reasonable steps | Automatically, if it is kept secret | As long as it stays secret |
| Geographical indication | Names that show a product’s origin and quality, such as a cheese or a wine region | By registration or by law | Indefinite, while the link to the place remains |
| Database right (in the EU) | The investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents of a database | Automatically | Fifteen years, renewed by substantial new investment |
| Plant variety rights | New, distinct, uniform and stable plant varieties | By application and grant | Twenty to twenty-five years |
- Overlap is common. A single product may carry several rights: the software is protected by copyright, the name by a trade mark, the screen layout by a design, the algorithm’s method by a patent (if the place allows it), and the customer data by confidentiality.
- Related areas. Passing off, unfair competition, personality and publicity rights and rights in performances protect against misuse of reputation and identity, even where no formal right exists.
- What is not protected. Ideas, facts, methods of doing business, slogans that are too short, names of people and everyday words are generally free, though the way they are expressed or used may be protected.
The most common mistake
A client says, ‘I have a great idea for an app. How do I copyright it?’ An idea is not protected by copyright, which protects only its expression, such as the code and the screens. A patent might protect a technical invention, if one exists, and a trade mark protects the name. The first step is to ask what exactly the client has and what exactly they want to stop others doing, and then choose the right.
Territoriality and the international framework
Almost all IP rights are territorial: a right granted in one country is enforceable only there. A patent in France does not stop copying in Brazil, and a trade mark registered in the United States does not stop a rival using the same name in Japan. Copyright is different at the edges, because treaties require countries to protect foreign works automatically.
| Instrument | What it does | Key idea |
|---|---|---|
| Berne Convention | Protects copyright across member states without formalities | National treatment: foreign authors are treated like local ones, plus minimum standards |
| Paris Convention | Protects industrial property: patents, marks, designs | National treatment and a priority period (usually twelve months for patents and six for marks and designs) to file abroad |
| TRIPS Agreement | Sets minimum standards for all main rights within the World Trade Organization | Linked to trade and enforced by trade dispute settlement |
| Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) | A single international patent application that preserves rights in many countries | Filing is centralised, but grants remain national |
| Madrid System | A single application for trade mark protection in many countries | One filing, one fee, national examination |
| Hague System | A single application for design protection in many countries | Similar to Madrid |
| WIPO treaties on the internet | Copyright and performers’ rights in the digital environment | Technological protection measures and digital rights information |
The practical rule: rights must be obtained, and enforced, country by country (or region by region). A business that plans to sell abroad should decide early where to register, because patents generally cannot be saved after public disclosure, and a trade mark may be taken by another in a country where the business has not registered.
The European layer
Within Europe, there are two quite different systems, and people often confuse them.
| System | What it is | What it gives |
|---|---|---|
| European Union rights | Rights created by EU law and managed by an EU body, the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) | A single EU trade mark and a registered Community design valid in all member states, plus an unregistered design right and an EU database right |
| European Patent Convention (EPC) | A separate treaty, not an EU one, with its own office (EPO) and more members than the EU | A single application and examination, resulting in a bundle of national patents; and a newer unitary patent that covers participating EU states with one right |
| Harmonised national law | EU directives that bring national laws into line on copyright, database rights, enforcement and trade secrets | Similar rules across member states, with national courts applying them |
- Exhaustion across the single market. Once a product is sold in the EU by the right holder or with consent, the holder cannot use the right to stop its resale elsewhere in the EU (the doctrine of exhaustion), though goods from outside the EU may be stopped.
- Competition law limits abuse. Licences that carve up the single market, or refusals to license that foreclose competition, may breach EU competition law.
- Courts. The Court of Justice of the EU gives binding interpretations of EU IP law, and national courts apply them.
How to approach any IP problem
1. What exactly is the thing: expression, invention, name, look, secret, data? 2. Which rights could protect it, and do they arise automatically or need registration? 3. Who owns it: the creator, an employer, a commissioner? 4. In which countries is it protected, and for how long? 5. What uses are infringing and what exceptions apply? 6. What remedies are available, and how can the right be licensed, sold or enforced? Use the six questions throughout the course and the capstone.
Part 2. Lab: Which Right?
Sort each item by the main right that would protect it.
Situation 1 of 8
The source code of a game.
Where does this belong?
Part 3. Lab: First Question
Choose the best first question in each situation.
Situation 1 of 3
A client says, ‘Someone is selling a copy of my book’s cover design on mugs. Can I stop them?’
What is the best first question?
Part 4. Lab: Spot the IP Mistake
Click the statements that misstate intellectual property law.
A trainee’s notes
Click every sentence that causes a problem, then press Check. There may be 3 problems, and some sentences are fine.
Part 5. Check your understanding
Ten questions drawn from a larger pool. Sign in to have your score saved towards your certificate.
You have finished the free module
Here is what you can do now, and where the course goes next
Module 1 gave you
- Explain why the law protects intangible creations, and its limits.
- Name the main rights and say what each protects.
- Tell registered from unregistered rights, and say how long each lasts.
- Explain territoriality and the role of treaties.
- Describe the European layer of protection.
Next, 6 more modules and a capstone
- Module 2: Copyright: works, originality, the idea and expression line, authorship and ownership, moral rights, infringement, exceptions and licencesYou will learn to list the works that copyright protects and the test of originality.
- Module 3: Trade marks: what a mark does, distinctiveness, registration, likelihood of confusion, reputation, infringement, genericide and domain namesYou will learn to say what a trade mark does and what can be one.
- Module 4: Patents: the bargain, patentable subject matter, novelty, inventive step, the application and claims, infringement, defences and international filingYou will learn to state the patent bargain and the usual term.
- Module 5: Designs, trade secrets and other rights: appearance, confidential information, geographical indications, databases, passing off and personalityYou will learn to explain how designs are protected and what they must show.
- Module 6: Ownership, licensing and exploitation: employees and contractors, assignments, kinds of licence, open source, competition limits and IP in deals
- Module 7: Enforcement, remedies and the digital world: stopping infringement, intermediaries, takedown, cross-border disputes, AI and strategy
- Capstone: Capstone: Lumen Atelier
Each module has its own practice labs and a graded quiz, and a Certificate of Completion follows when you pass them all. The whole course is $15 once, or included in an All-Access Membership.
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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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