What does the Constitution say about IP?
Art I § 8 Clause 8: Congress shall have the power to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings/discoveries.
Commerce Clause: The Congress shall have power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.
What are trademarks?
Words, symbols, names, or design used to identify and distinguish the source of goods or service, protecting brand identity rather than the underlying product itself.
What is the registration requirement for trademarks?
Goes to the first person to use it, not the first to register.
Cannot trademark generic items, descriptive terms, surnames without secondary meaning. I.E. MCDonalds.
What harms do trademarks protect against?
- Traditional Trademark Infringement: Causes confusion about where something is from. (Starbux Coffee)
- Dilution by Blurring: Dilutes the meaning of something. (Rolex Shoe Store)
- Dilution by Tarnishment: Tarnishes the image of the brand (Disney adult store)
What are patents?
Government granted right that gives inventor exclusive control over making, using, or selling an invention for a limited time.
What constitutes an invention?
Invention must be novel, useful, and nonobvious.
Nonobvious: Would an ordinary skilled artisan facing the same problem have found this?
Not Patentable: Nature, abstract ideas, or natural phenomena.
What is the American Invents Act?
First inventor to file with the PTO gets the patent.
i. Patents last 20 years.
Patentee has the right to make, sue, sell, and import the invention during that time.
a. Others need permission.
What are copyrights?
Grant’s creators of original works of authorship a set of exclusive rights in their creative works.
What do copyrights protect?
Expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.
1. Books, computer code, music, recordings etc.
2. Must be independently created, minimally creative, and tangible.
How to obtain a copyright?
Happens automatically, gives rights to reproduce, publicly perform, display, distribute, and prepare works from it.
Registration is optional but can be useful in suing for infringement and claim statutory damages.
Expires 70 years after death.
Fair use exception: Permits certain socially valuable uses that would otherwise be infringements.
