INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, designs, symbols, names and images used in commerce.
IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what we invent or create.
A strong system of IP rights assures inventors, industrial designers, and creative artists that their ideas will be protected. They may receive payment for the use of their creations and continue to invest in future innovations. Also, they are incentivized to make their innovation available to others, and share knowledge that enables others to come up with other novel and advanced solutions.
Innovation exists widely throughout the world. Anyone who finds challenges and seeks solutions can create Intellectual Property. By encouraging the implementation of strong enforcement around the world, Intellectual Property protects the ideas and rewards of our innovations and ideas.
Examples of Intellectual Property related to our type of business are:
- Domain names,
- Architectural and structural design rights,
- Confidential information,
- Inventions,
- Database rights,
- Works of authorship,
- Service marks,
- Logos,
- Trademarks,
- Business or trade names,
- Commercial secrets,.
- Computer software.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright is a legal term used to describe the rights that our company has over our works. Works covered by copyright range from computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps and technical drawings, such as 2 or 3-dimensional designs and structural calculations.
TRADE SECRETS
Trade secrets are a company’s Intellectual Property that isn’t public, has economic value, and carries information. They may be a formula, report, drawing, or process used to gain a competitive advantage.
VIOLATIONS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The significant violations in our type of business of Intellectual Property consist of copy infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets.
Violations of intellectual property include:
♠ Creating a logo or name meant to confuse buyers into thinking they’re buying the original brand,
♠ Copying one or more of our ideas and marketing it as an innovation or one of their designs and/or creations,
♠ Manufacturing goods identical to what we produce without a license to do so.
Since intellectual property can be bought, sold, or leased out, it offers many protections equal to real property ownership. A dispute may end with property confiscation, an order of monetary damages, or cease and desist orders.
ROYALTY FEE
When we create a design and/or build a wooden prefab structure in accordance with the IP law there are various forms of protection we can implement to make sure other people can’t use or copy our ideas without our permission. These include patents and trademarks. If an individual or organization uses our patent or trademark without our consent, they are technically infringing our intellectual property rights and may have to pay damages.
However, we have chosen to let other people use our ideas or creations. This might be to expand their reach in untapped markets, or so that another company can develop and commercialize the intellectual property. In these cases the client must enter into a formal user agreement to protect the way our Intellectual Property is used and to ensure that we receive adequate financial compensation for its use by a third party.
To this end we have set a standard royalty rate which is included in all of our project costs and will determine how much the user has to pay for the use of the Intellectual Property.