Forms of intellectual property
- Confidential information: This is one of the most valuable assets of any business. It can be related to a wide range of information and subjects, and be saved, or stored, in any form deemed applicable. Contractually, all information passed within the business may be confidential, and most employees and stakeholders will know this.
- Copyright: This prevents unauthorized replication or duplication of company work, or anything produced, or created within the working environment. This can include anything from multimedia footage to important data and company publications. An expiration date can be applied to certain works and will need to be indicated in the relevant documentation.
- Database rights: Whoever owns the database, has the right to authorize the extraction of content. These rights are similar to copyright, in that, they also carry an expiration date – limited to 15 years.
- Designs: You can register a unique design that has an individual character. Nothing like it, or similar, may exist. The duration of a design registration can range from 5 to 25 years.
- Patent: This gives the creator, the right to prevent people from stealing their idea without permission. An invention qualifies as a patent when it involves an inventive step, is novel, and is capable of industrial application. A patent can either be short term and last 10 years, or be long term, and last 20 years.
- Trademark: A trademark acts as an identifier for a company, in terms of the goods that it produces. It usually lasts 10 years but can be renewed indefinitely, as long as the renewal fees are paid.
- Trade secrets: This refers to processes and procedures that provide a competitive edge to the business. Protection can be enforced as long as it is not a system used by other existing companies and falls within the description.
- Trade dress: This is related to packaging, and the physical aspects of products offered by a business. It can even relate to the design of a business or operational processes and procedures put in place.
