Intellectual+Property.+How+can+a+business+protect+its+good+ideas?

 **Intellectual Property: How can a business protect its good ideas? ** by Brennan Pereira

**Introduction ** [|Intellectual property] refers to “creations of the mind” for which property rights are recognised together with its subsequent law. These creations include inventions, symbols, names, artistic works, and designs used in business. Intellectual property can be classified into two categories: industrial property which includes patents, trademarks, and industrial designs; and copyrights which includes artistic works such as music, films, novels, paintings, etc. The laws associated with intellectual property, grants the creators or owners exclusive rights to these intangible assets. These rights allow the owners the opportunity to receive a return on their intellectual property investments. It is therefore important how businesses manage their intellectual property as well as their use of other intellectual property which is not their own. In New Zealand, law pertaining to intellectual property can be found in legislation, namely the [|Copyright Act 1994], the [|Trade Marks Act 2002] and the [|Patents Act 1953]. These Acts provide rules and regulations to the three most common types of intellectual property, which are patents, copyrights and trademarks.

**Patents ** Patent law is derived from legislation under the [|Patents Act 1953]. Under the [|Patents Act 1953], a patent is a time limited right for any invention that is new or a new manufacturing method. A patent is therefore an exclusive right granted for an invention which may be a new product or process of doing something or a new technology for solving a problem. This allows for the exclusive use of an invention for up to twenty years which makes an invention a valuable business asset that can be bought, sold transferred or licensed like any other property. This means the owner of the patent may exclude others from commercialising the patented invention for up to twenty years. It is for this reason that businesses have to carefully examine the products or processes involved in their operations to make sure that they are not infringing on the exclusive patent rights of others. Prescribed means of infringement proceedings to enforce rights are also set out in the [|Patents Act 1953].



**Copyrights ** Copyrights refer to a range of exclusive rights given under the [|Copyrights Act 1994] and the [|Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008] to owners or creators of original works. The [|Copyrights Act 1994] gives the owners rights which allow them to control how their work is copied, published or sold to the public, adapted, distributed and used. It also gives them the right to perform, show or play their work in public. In New Zealand copyright automatically comes into existence when an original work is created, published and performed. To qualify for copyright protection, the work must be original, the creator must be a qualified person, the work must be in writing or some other material form, and it must be in a category in which a copyright can exist. If a business wants to protect its copyrights it would be beneficial for it to place a copyright notice on its original work informing others that the work is subject to copyright protection. For others to make use of work under copyright they will need to obtain a license from the owner to use that work. A license will usually have a fee attached to it. However, copyright owners are not obligated to grant licenses for use of their work.

**Trademarks ** Trademarks are unique signs which identify certain goods or services as those from specific people or businesses. They provide the owner of the trade mark with the exclusive right to use the mark to identify their products or services. The [|Trade Marks Act 2002] governs the rights to registered trademarks. This [|Act] also prescribes how to enforce trade mark rights by taking infringement proceedings. A carefully selected and managed trade mark can be very beneficial asset to a business. A business with a quality trade mark will stand out in the market and therefore have a competitive advantage over other businesses. Owners can also license others to use their trademarks in return for payment. A good trade mark can help a business gain and retain customers. When applying to register a trade mark, the applicant has to ensure that the mark complies with all requirements of the [|Trade Marks Act 2002]. __References __

Copyright Council of New Zealand. (2010). Copyright in NZ. Copyright Legislation **. **  Retrieved October 10, 2010 from  []

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. (2010). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Trade marks. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Protect brands, identity & logos. What is a trade mark? Retrieved October 11, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[]

==== <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Intellectual property office of New Zealand. (2010). Patents **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Protection for your New or Improved Product or Process. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> Legislation / Hearings. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Retrieved October 9, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">  ====

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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. (2009). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Patents. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Protection for your New or Improved Product or Process. Why register a patent? Retrieved October 9, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. (2009). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Copyright. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Protection for original work. What is copyright? Retrieved October 10, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. (2010). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Copyright. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Protection for original work. Legislation. Retrieved October 10, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. (2010). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Trade marks. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Protect brands, identity & logos. What is a trade mark? Retrieved October 11, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. (2010). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Trade marks. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Protect brands, identity & logos. Legislation / Hearings. Retrieved October 11, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Ministry of Economic Development. (2008). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">What Is Intellectual Property? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Retrieved October 8, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[]

<span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Ministry of Economic Development. (2009). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Patent Protection in New Zealand. R <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">etrieved October 9, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[]

<span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Ministry of Economic Development. (2009). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Copyright Protection in New Zealand. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Retrieved October 10, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[]

<span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Ministry of Economic Development. (2009). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Trade Mark Protection in New Zealand. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Retrieved October 11, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Wikipedia. (2010). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Intellectual property. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Retrieved October 8, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[]

<span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Wikipedia. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> (2010). Trademark. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Retrieved October 11, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">

<span style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">World Intellectual Property Organization. (n.d). What is Intellectual Property? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Retrieved October 8, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">

<span style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">World Intellectual Property Organization. (n.d). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">What is a Patent? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Retrieved October, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[] <span style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">World Intellectual Property Organization. (n.d). Copyright and Related Rights. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Retrieved October 10, 2010 from __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[] __

<span style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">World Intellectual Property Organization. (n.d). Trademarks. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Retrieved October 11, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;">

<span style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">World Intellectual Property Organization. (n.d). About Trademarks. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Retrieved October 11, 2010 from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 105%; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 105%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">[]         <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">For more information visit the following websites: [|Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand], [|World Intellectual Property Organization], [|Ministry of Economic Development], and [|New Zealand Legislation] for the Acts mentioned above that protect Intellectual Property