Intellectual Property Law and entrepreneurship Update o Tesla in Michigan o Old Law an auto manufacturer may not sell new vehicles directly to retail customers except through its franchised dealers o New Law Delete the word its Intellectual Property Law o Laws protecting ideas creations of the mind such as inventions literary and artistic works designs symbols names and images used in commerce Patents Trade secrets Copyrights Trademarks IP Law and the US Constitution o to promote the progress of science and useful Arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries Patent Law o Are inventions or discoveries of new useful and non obvious processes or machines o Patent protections exclusive rights for 20 years or 14 o File patent application before public disclosure of idea o Patents are public knowledge Users pay royalty license fee Trade secret law o Definition valuable business information that a company makes efforts to keep confidential o Patents public disclosures and monopoly for about 20 years o Trade secrets monopoly for as long as it remains secret Copyright law o Exclusive right to use original works of authorship o Books plays music art and other original works o Automatic protection once fixes in a tangible form of expression o Protection for author s life plus years o Works made for hire publication 95 years or creation 120 years o Why register Necessary to sue for copyright infringement And treble damages and attorneys fees if registered within 3 months Copyright notice symbol author date of first creation Copyright Law Fair Use o Exception to an owners exclusive rights o Factors consider Commercial vs non commercial Factual vs creative material Portion vs whole Effect on potential market for the work Trademark Law o Word symbol design that identifies and distinguish products o Strong vs weak trademarks Arbitrary fanciful Exxon McDonalds Suggestive Coppertone for sun tan lotion Descriptive All bran Vision Center Burger King Generic Cola vs coke Computer vs Dell Ownership of Trademarks o Unregistered trademark is tm in a circle o Registered trademark r in a circle o Why register Nationwide rights Sure for infringement After five years incontestable rights to the trademark Trademarks can last forever if company continues to use them o Loss of trademark rights Marks is abandoned Mark becomes generic o Trademark infringement likelihood of confusion Strength of the mark Proximity of the goods Similarity of the markets o
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