Industrial property is one of two subsets of intellectual property (the other being copyright), it takes a range of forms, including patents for inventions, industrial designs (aesthetic creations related to the appearance of industrial products), trademarks, service marks, layout-designs of integrated circuits, commercial names and designations, geographical indications and protection against unfair competition. In some cases, aspects of intellectual creation, although present, are less clearly defined. The object of industrial property consists of signs conveying information, in particular to consumers, regarding products and services offered on the market. Protection is directed against unauthorized use of such signs that could mislead consumers, and against misleading practices in general.
In United States legal terminology, industrial property refers to patented goods, trademarks, copyrights, and industrial designs that are owned by a business, and that the business may exclude others from using.
History and context
Early patents
The earliest patents were recognitions for exclusive exploitation or exclusive practice of new processes or creations; which are considered to have been granted in Europe in the fourteenth century. Several possible origins are attributed to the first patents: the Republic of Florence, the Republic of Venice or, according to some authors, the Kingdom of England. In all cases the main motivations seem to have been the introduction of "new arts", the attraction of more skilled craftsmen and the transfer of technology in order to reduce imports and increase the exports of their territories. it is a portion of the superordinate concept of intellectual property (intangible property) that excludes copyright. The purpose of industrial property law is to regulate the rights to certain inventions and industrial or commercial creations. It is regulated on a state, community and international level.
The importance of protecting industrial property was recognized in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1883 and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1886. Both treaties are administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (1967) does not seek to define intellectual property, but lists the following as protected by IP rights:
- literary, artistic and scientific works;
- performances of performing artists, phonograms and broadcasts;
- inventions in all fields of human endeavor;
- scientific discoveries;
- industrial designs;
- trademarks, service marks, and commercial names and designations;
- protection against unfair competition;
- and “all other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields.”
Other international instruments have created systems of international registration for industrial property signs, such as the Lisbon Agreement (1958) and the Madrid Protocol (1989), both administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Countries generally have laws to protect IP for two main reasons:
- To give statutory expression to the rights of creators and innovators in their creations and innovations, balanced against the public interest in accessing creations and innovations;
- To promote creativity and innovation, so contributing to economic and social development.
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| rowspan="5" |Patents and utility models
| rowspan="5" |Inventions
|Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
|1883
|WIPO
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|Patent Cooperation Treaty
|1970
|WIPO
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|Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure
|1977
|WIPO
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|Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification
|1971
|WIPO
|-
|Patent Law Treaty
|2000
|WIPO
|-
| rowspan="2" |Industrial designs
| rowspan="2" |Independently created industrial designs that are new or original
|Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs
|1925
|WIPO
|-
|Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs
|1968
|WIPO
|-
| rowspan="7" |Trademarks, certification marks and collective marks
| rowspan="7" |Distinguishing signs and symbols
|Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods
|1891
|WIPO
|-
|Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
|1891
|WIPO
|-
|Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
|1989
|WIPO
|-
|Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks
|1957
|WIPO
|-
|Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks
|1973
|WIPO
|-
|Trademark Law Treaty
|1994
|WIPO
|-
|Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks
|2006
|WIPO
|-
|Geographical indications and appellations of origin
|Geographical names linked to a country, region or locality
|Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration
|1958
|WIPO
|-
|Integrated circuits
|Layout-designs
|Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated Circuits
|1989
|WIPO
|-
|Protection against unfair competition
|Honest practices
|Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
|1883
|WIPO
|}
See also
- Intellectual property organization
- Glossary of patent law terms