Countries around the world have enacted laws to protect intellectual property, although the time periods and exact provisions of such laws vary across countries. Taken together, this combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secret law is called intellectual property, because it implies ownership over an idea, concept, or image, not a physical piece of property like a house or a car. One famous trade secret is the formula for Coca-Cola, which is not protected under copyright or patent law, but is simply kept secret by the company. Even if a company does not have a patent on an invention, competing firms are not allowed to steal their secrets. There is also a body of law known as trade secrets. But in certain areas, like the invention of new software, it has been unclear whether patent or copyright protection should apply. Roughly speaking, patent law covers inventions and copyright protects books, songs, and art. Copyright protection ordinarily lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. Copyright Office, “is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States for ‘original works of authorship’ including literary, dramatic, musical, architectural, cartographic, choreographic, pantomimic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and audiovisual creations.” No one can reproduce, display, or perform a copyrighted work without permission of the author. ![]() A firm can renew a trademark over and over again, as long as it remains in active use.Ī copyright, according to the U.S. ![]() Roughly 1.9 million trademarks are registered with the U.S. ![]() The idea is to provide limited monopoly power so that innovative firms can recoup their investment in R&D, but then to allow other firms to produce the product more cheaply once the patent expires.Ī trademark is an identifying symbol or name for a particular good, like Chiquita bananas, Chevrolet cars, or the Nike “swoosh” that appears on shoes and athletic gear. In the United States, exclusive patent rights last for 20 years. A patent gives the inventor the exclusive legal right to make, use, or sell the invention for a limited time. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as the U.S. To Promote the Progress of Science and Useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the Exclusive Right to their Writings and Discoveries.” Congress used this power to create the U.S. To prevent this from happening, the Constitution of the United States specifies in Article I, Section 8: “The Congress shall have Power. Given this possibility, many firms would choose not to invest in research and development, and as a result, the world would have less innovation. In this world of near ubiquitous information, other companies could take the formula, produce the drug, and because they did not incur the costs of research and development (R&D), undercut the price of the company that discovered the drug. Suppose a company invests in research and development and finds the cure for the common cold. Innovation takes time and resources to achieve.
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