What is Intellectual Property?
Generally, intellectual property is broadly defined as any invention, creation, innovation, discovery or improvement. Intellectual property embraces such items as trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and any creation that would be eligible for a patent. Generally, the intellectual property must be relatively unique in order for it to be protected.
Intellectual Property (IP) is a term that encompasses all forms of creativity that are protected either under statutes or by common law. It includes inventions, discoveries, know-how, processes, unique materials, copyrightable works, original data and other creative or artistic works. Intellectual Property also includes the physical embodiment of intellectual effort. For example, IP can be models, machines, devices, apparatus, instrumentation, circuits, computer programs and visualizations, biological materials, chemicals, other compositions of matter, plans and records of research. Some IP is protected by statute or legislation, such as patent, copyright, trademark, service mark, mask work or by plant variety protection certificate and confidentiality agreements. Often a specific technology is protected using multiple mechanisms. For example, some computer software can be protected by copyright, patent, trade secret, trademark, and content.
Intellectual property includes patentable inventions, copyrights and tangible research materials invented, created or discovered by UMass investigators. top The Disclosure Process The preferred time for UMass investigators to disclose intellectual property is before publication. With respect to inventions, you may disclose as soon as the invention is conceptualized, rather than waiting until the invention is reduced to practice. You can download the disclosure form from the CVIP website and submit it to CVIP.
Intellectual property, sometimes abbreviated IP, is a legal definition of ideas, inventions, artistic works and other commercially viable products created out of one’s own mental processes. In the same sense that real estate titles and bills of sale establish ownership of tangible items, intellectual property is protected by such legal means as patents, copyrights, and trademark registrations. Intellectual property is generally handled in the same way as any other tangible product or piece of real estate. The Coca-Cola company, for example, has legal ownership of several factories, the bottling equipment, trucks for transporting their product AND the formula for the soft drink itself. The intellectual property known as the secret recipe for the Coca-Cola beverage is ‘owned’ outright. Obviously other beverage companies can produce a cola-flavored soda, but Coca-Cola’s formula is protected by trade secret registration. Not every idea inside a person’s mind can be considered intellectual
Intellectual property is any innovation, commercial or artistic, or any unique name, symbol, logo or design used commercially. Intellectual property is protected by patents on inventions; trademarks on branding devices; copyrights on music, videos, patterns and other forms of expression; trade secrets for methods or formulas having economic value and used commercially For more information please visit: www.wipo.int/about-ip/en.
