INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM To: Tammi Clearfield
From: Ramona Graham
Date: February 16, 2015
Re: Intellectual Property Assignment 1 ASSIGNMENT
You have been assigned to research and explain the distinctions in copyright, patent and trademark to a new paralegal just entering the area of intellectual property law. In doing so, in an interoffice memorandum, explain copyright, patent and trademark, compare and contrast the differences between the three and explain the process for securing a patent, a trademark and a copyright. Identify the pros and cons of pursuing such options and provide a working example …show more content…
Nonetheless, registration through the Copyright Office offers advantages such as the creation of a public record, the right to bring suit, the addition of statutory damages and attorney’s fees, and (if within five years after publication), prima facie evidence of validity. Registration is available through the Copyright Office website. Nonreturnable “best edition” deposits of works must be sent in, with specific guidelines for every type of work. A cursory exam is performed, and barring any concerns, a certificate is issued. The receipt of the application package becomes the effective date. Refusals can be appealed for a fee. Records are kept at the Copyright Office, its website, and in the Library of Congress card catalog. Varying degrees of rights in the work can be transferred from the owner to another in multiple ways, such as licensing. The “first sale doctrine” gives buyers the right to use, sell, lend or destroy a lawfully made copy they have purchased, but no rights to reproduce or modify the material …show more content…
Utility patents, which are most prevalent, cover everything from airplanes to medicines to processes to cigarettes. Still, the laws and products of nature, printed matter, atomic weapons, business methods and mental steps are all excluded from patent under either statute or authority based on judicial decision. It is required that the invention be immediately useful, to ensure it truly serves society. To meet novelty requirements, the invention must not have been described in print, used, sold, or available anywhere in the world for more than one year prior to filing (except for experimentation and testing), and any patent disclosures must be directly from the inventor or someone she shared it with. Nonobviousness is shown through contrasting with prior art as well as weighing the invention’s relationship with the marketplace. Design patents are ornamental instead of useful and can include everything from chairs to watches, hampers to hubcaps, as long as they are manufactured, ornamental, original, and new. Congress created plant patents in the interest of proliferating distinctive, modified plant materials for the agricultural industry. However, items particularly relevant to the food supply, like tubers, are unpatentable. To be eligible, plants must be asexually reproduced, distinctive, and, like utility patents novel and nonobvious. A notable alternative comes from the 1970 Plant Variety
From: Ramona Graham
Date: February 16, 2015
Re: Intellectual Property Assignment 1 ASSIGNMENT
You have been assigned to research and explain the distinctions in copyright, patent and trademark to a new paralegal just entering the area of intellectual property law. In doing so, in an interoffice memorandum, explain copyright, patent and trademark, compare and contrast the differences between the three and explain the process for securing a patent, a trademark and a copyright. Identify the pros and cons of pursuing such options and provide a working example …show more content…
Nonetheless, registration through the Copyright Office offers advantages such as the creation of a public record, the right to bring suit, the addition of statutory damages and attorney’s fees, and (if within five years after publication), prima facie evidence of validity. Registration is available through the Copyright Office website. Nonreturnable “best edition” deposits of works must be sent in, with specific guidelines for every type of work. A cursory exam is performed, and barring any concerns, a certificate is issued. The receipt of the application package becomes the effective date. Refusals can be appealed for a fee. Records are kept at the Copyright Office, its website, and in the Library of Congress card catalog. Varying degrees of rights in the work can be transferred from the owner to another in multiple ways, such as licensing. The “first sale doctrine” gives buyers the right to use, sell, lend or destroy a lawfully made copy they have purchased, but no rights to reproduce or modify the material …show more content…
Utility patents, which are most prevalent, cover everything from airplanes to medicines to processes to cigarettes. Still, the laws and products of nature, printed matter, atomic weapons, business methods and mental steps are all excluded from patent under either statute or authority based on judicial decision. It is required that the invention be immediately useful, to ensure it truly serves society. To meet novelty requirements, the invention must not have been described in print, used, sold, or available anywhere in the world for more than one year prior to filing (except for experimentation and testing), and any patent disclosures must be directly from the inventor or someone she shared it with. Nonobviousness is shown through contrasting with prior art as well as weighing the invention’s relationship with the marketplace. Design patents are ornamental instead of useful and can include everything from chairs to watches, hampers to hubcaps, as long as they are manufactured, ornamental, original, and new. Congress created plant patents in the interest of proliferating distinctive, modified plant materials for the agricultural industry. However, items particularly relevant to the food supply, like tubers, are unpatentable. To be eligible, plants must be asexually reproduced, distinctive, and, like utility patents novel and nonobvious. A notable alternative comes from the 1970 Plant Variety