Definition:
The legal rights granted to creators and owners of works that are the results of human intellectual creativity.
Intellectual property rights (IPR) are legal rights granted to creators and owners of works that are the results of human intellectual creativity and can be in the industrial, scientific, literary, and artistic domain, and can take various forms, including an invention, a manuscript, a recording, or a symbol that represents a business.
The objective of IPR is to protect the right of a creator to collect income from or otherwise enjoy the value of his or her creation, while at the same time allowing the general public to access the work. IPR maintains a balance by establishing time limits on the creator's means of controlling the work.
IPR law regulates the creation, use, and control of protected work. IPR law deals largely with the following four areas:
- Trademark: a word, phrase, symbol, or design (or a combination of words, phrases, symbols, or designs) that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. The term includes service marks, which identify and distinguish the source of a service rather than a product.
- Copyright: the legal right granted to an author, playwright, publisher, or distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work.
- Industrial design: the design of products made by larger-scale industry for mass distribution. Industrial design laws can be a “neighboring right” within already existing copyright laws. The aim is to protect the artistic design found in the manufacturing environment.
- Patent: a grant made by a government that confers upon the creator of an invention the sole right to make, use, and sell that invention for a set period of time.
In some countries, a legal structure is a critical requirement for joining the WTO and attracting foreign investment. To have any meaningful effect, IPR law must be accompanied by a set of state institutions that are not only charged with but capable of registering protected works, investigating alleged IPR violations, and enforcing the rights of IPR owners. Effective IPR law must also exist against a backdrop of general public understanding of and support for the concepts of intellectual property.
There is also a need for effective supporting institutions such as a customs department charged to watch for IPR violations; law schools that provide IPR instructions to its students and government representatives; private law firms that are willing to protect clients and enforce IPR; bar associations; institutions that teach higher education in economics; and the media, including print, television, and radio to accurately carry the news of change to the entire nation.
