Introduction to Intellectual Property:

 

Introduction to Intellectual Property

Gowthami Reddy D. - Advocate - IPR & Commercial Laws, Partner, Pentallect Partners

Entrepreneurship; especially the new age entrepreneurship is closely associated with intellectual property. Entrepreneurship and intellectual property in my opinion are the two sides of the same coin.

It is vital for the new age entrepreneurs or in other words start-up’s to know the significance of intellectual property in their business; chiefly, because the current start up scene is predominantly dominated by all kinds of intellectual property.

What is intellectual property? You all know what a property is.

What is a property?  It is an asset that you own.

For e.g.  A plot/a house /car/Jewels /Bike / a Farm etc.

Now what is intellectual property? Property created using one’s intellect.

Now, what can be created using one’s intellect? Some examples of intellectual property are 

BOOKS, 

MOVIES, 

PLAYS,

SONGS, 

PERFORMANCES

BRANDS, 

MACHINES, 

APPLIANCES

DRUGS and 

NEW VARIETY SEEDS etc.

 

Now you all know what intellectual property is.

The next step would be how to claim ownership over intellectual property and how to protect it and how to exploit it.

When you buy a house – you have to register it with the concerned registration office. Once registered you become the owner of the house. Similarly, you have an intellectual property. For e.g. let’s say you have written a book and you want to approach a publisher to publish it. Now what do you do? You should apply for a copyright. A copyright establishes your ownership over the book.

Let’s say you invented something; A device that cooks food without human intervention. Now before approaching someone with your invention or idea it is important that it should be protected.  Therefore, by filing  a patent application you can protect your idea.

Hope you have got a fair idea of what is intellectual property. In my coming post’s I shall discuss in detail about different kinds of IPR tools and how they will be useful in protecting your IP.