P R E S E N T E D B Y K R I S T I N W I L S O NC O N C O R D I A U N I V E R S I T Y

E D C I 5 8 8

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: PROTECTING OUR CREATIVE

RIGHTS

THE HISTORY OF PROPERTY RIGHTS:

FROM THE TANGIBLE TO THE INTANGIBLE

MEETING JOHN LOCKE

• 1632-1704• English philosopher• Developed the theory of

property rights which states that people should not be enslaved because of their right to have authority over themselves and the right to benefit from their labor. In addition to these, people have a right to whatever they have taken from nature through their own effort.

• Condition #1: No one claims more property than can reasonably be used.

• Condition #2: Whatever property a person removes from the public supply leaves plenty for others who have an equal right to it.

It only works if two conditions are met.

UNDERSTANDING LOCKE’S DEFINITION OF PROPERTY:

FROM PROPERTY RIGHTS TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:

E XT E N D I N G U N D E R S TA N D I N G A N D D E F I N I T I O N O F P R O P E RT Y

DEFINING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

“Intellectual property is any unique product of the human intellect that has commercial value. Examples of intellectual property are books, songs, movies, paintings, inventions, chemical formulas, and computer programs” (Quinn, p. 163).

PROPERTY VS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

PROPERTY

• Locke states we have a “natural right” to property

• Indicates ownership of physical objects

• May be stolen• Similar or same types

of property may be owned by many different people

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• There is not evidence to support a “natural right” to intellectual property• Indicates ownership of

ideas that others could duplicate without intending to duplicate• May be copied, but

cannot truly be stolen

PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:

BENEFITS AND L IMITATIONS

PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Benefits

• Encourages creativity• People make money• Creators control the

use of their intellectual property by others• Society benefits from

the development of intellectual property

Limitations

• Creators have exclusive rights to their property for a limited amount of time before it enters public domain

• Intellectual property created by an employee as part of the job belong to the employer

TRADE SECRETS, TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS, PATENTS, AND

COPYRIGHTS:

PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

TRADE SECRETS

• The formula for Coca-Cola is one of the best kept trade secrets. It has been safe-guarded for over one hundred years!

TRADE SECRETS

• When a company has information that they keep secret so that no one else can make the same product, this is called a trade secret.• Trade secrets do not have an expiration date. • The disadvantage of using a trade secret to

protect intellectual property is that the information is not shared with anyone else.

TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS

TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS

• A trademark identifies a company and its product through the use of a “word, symbol, picture, sound, or color” (Quinn, p 170).• “A service mark [identifies] a service” (Quinn, p.

170).• When the government issues a trademark or

service mark, the company to which they issue it has exclusive rights to that product.• Trademarks and service marks bring consumers

confidence in the quality of products.

PATENTS

PATENTS

• When the government issues a patent, it gives the inventor exclusive right to that specific piece of intellectual property.• Patents are granted for the period of twenty

years.• A patent is a public document that provides a

description of the intellectual property. There are no secrets.• Once a patent expires, everyone has access to

those ideas.

COPYRIGHTS

COPYRIGHTS

• The government gives authors specific rights to their own original works. There are five rights granted once a copyright has been received. No one else may exercise those rights in regards to that original copyrighted work without permission of the author.

• The five rights are: The right to reproduce; the right to distribute copies; the right to display copies; the right to perform; the right to produce new material derived from the original work.

• Today, copyrights extend seventy years beyond the author’s lifetime

• European copyright law is much more stringent, so the American government has brought its copyright law in line with it, to facilitate international copyright agreements.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY:

RECOGNIZING RIGHTS AND ABUSES

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY

RIGHTS

• Recording companies have put new restrictions on copying to protect their copyrights.• The FBI continues to

establish new methods of safeguarding intellectual property.

Abuses

• Anyone with the right equipment can make good quality copies of any video or audio content on the internet.

• Intellectual property theft is on the rise due to advances in digital technologies and Internet file sharing networks.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS PROTECTED

• On August 13, 2012, a new federal regulation authorizes use of this seal by all U.S. copyright holders.

• http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/white_collar/ipr/ipr

FOR YOUR REVIEW

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rDKxuTi2Cmk• Follow the link to a great video that explains the

basics of intellectual property and why we need to understand what it is and what it means for us.

REFERENCES

FBI- Intellectual Property Theft (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/white_collar/ipr/ipr

Coca-Cola logo. (n. d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=coca+cola+logo&ie=utf-8&oe=utf- 8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:off

History of Western Philosophy (2003). Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/phl302/philosophers/locke.htm

Quinn, M. J. (2013). Ethics for the information age (5th ed.). Pearson.

What is intellectual property? (n. d.) Retrieved from http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/