Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)
Protection of Innovations
Innovations are crucial and cost-intensive at modern businesses. Intellectual property rights (IPRs), amongst other rights, may be a viable option for efficiently protecting innovations. IPRs provide a systematic course of action against copies, plagiarism and the illegal exploitation of innovations. IPRs can assist in business’ long term success.
Choice of IPRs
Often an innovation may not be adequately protected by a single IPR. The term “IPR” refers to several different intellectual property rights which each serve to protect different aspects of a single innovation. Therefore, an optimized IPR concept should also take individual business objectives and needs into account.
The individual IPRs differ from each other with respect to their requirements for protection, their territorial and temporal protection, and the related individual formal proceedings. They are divided systematically into technical and non-technical IPRs.
Technical IPRs - Patents and Utility Models
The Technical IPRs protect technical innovations and essentially comprise Patents and utility models. Examples of patentable inventions are, products, apparatuses and machines, substances, active agents, methods, and computer-implemented inventions (software).
Nontechnical IPRs - Trademarks and Designs
Trademarks are signs capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one company from those of another company. Legally speaking, Designs protect the outward appearance and, hence, what is commonly known as the design of a product. The protection of trademarks and designs may substantially contribute to the success of an enterprise.
Plant Variety Right Protection, Plant Breeders’ Right (PBR)
Varieties of all botanical genera and species may be protected by a PBR, provided a variety is distinct, uniform, stable and new.