Analysis
An examination or assessment. Qualitative analysis determines the value of an investment, especially a stock, by examining its non-numeric characteristics, such as employee morale, customer loyalty, or brand value.
Asset
An item that can be converted into cash or used to add value to the business. Some assets are tangible in that they physically exist and have a readily defined value. Other assets however are intangible in that they do not physically exist nor have they a readily defined value. See Intangible Asset and Goodwill.
Assignment / Assignation
Intellectual property is like physical property in that it can be bought and sold or otherwise transferred, inherited and so on. The contract for the transfer of ownership from assignor to assignee is known as an assignment or assignation - see Selling / Transfer of Ownership.
Automatic Right
An automatic right is one that arises automatically as soon as a work is created. In the context of intellectual property the main automatic rights are Copyright and Design Right. Copyright for example, comes into being as soon as a literary work is written. See Copyright and Design Right.
Brand
An identifying symbol, word(s), or mark that serves as a badge of origin of a product or service, distinguishing one company's goods or services from its competitors. Often a brand is distinguished from a new trade mark as having a history and public recognition attached. See also Goodwill, Intangible Asset and Analysis.
Certification Mark
A special type of registered trade mark which guarantees that goods or services bearing the mark meet a certain defined standard or have a particular characteristic. Certification marks are registered by trade associations, government departments, technical institutes and similar bodies. An example is the British Standards' kite mark.
Chartered Institute of Patent Agents (CIPA)
The professional body for patent agents in the United Kingdom. Although its title refers only to patents, CIPA members also advise on trade marks, designs and copyright and other aspects of intellectual property. Trade Mark attorneys may belong to CIPA and/or the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys.
Collective Mark
A specific type of registered trade mark, registered in the name of a trade association, which indicates that the goods or services bearing the mark originate from members of that association.
Comptroller
The title of the chief executive of the Patent Office. Certain legal cases relating to intellectual property rights can be heard by staff of the Patent Office in the name of the Comptroller.
Compulsory Licences
See Licence
Computer Programs
Computer programs are generally protected by copyright, on the same basis as literary works. Conversion of a program into or between computer languages and codes corresponds to "adapting" a work. Storing any work in a computer amounts to "copying" the work. Also, running a computer program or displaying work on a VDU will usually involve copying and thus require the consent of the copyright owner. Although computer programs cannot in general be patented, those producing a technical effect can. See Software and Patents.
Confidentiality / Confidential Information
Promised secrecy and information that has been determined to be such. Confidentiality agreements are made between parties, to ensure that information supplied by the one party is not disclosed by the other. Extremely important with reference to novelty. See Novelty.
Contract
Legal transactions which may be about intellectual property, examples of such are licences and assignments. These contracts can be verbal and in many cases(but not always) a contractual agreement will be able to override any provisions in intellectual property law that might conflict with what is to be agreed.
Copyright
Copyright stops others from copying work at the commercial expense of the originator. Copyright automatically arises simply by recording the material, for example, in a report or on a company website. The copyrighted author can generally insist on being accredited as the original source, stop the infringement and/or claim monies for either loss of business or commercial damage depending on the seriousness of the breach of copyright.
Cyber Squatting
The practice of a third party registering a domain name that is substantially the same as that of an established company or brand name which may be also be a registered trade mark. See Domain Name.
Database Protection
Databases have copyright protection for the selection and arrangement of the contents. In addition, or instead, database right may exist in a database. This is an automatic right and protects databases against the unauthorised extraction and re-utilisation of the contents of the database. Database right lasts for 15 years from creation. If the database is published during this time then the term is 15 years from publication.
Designs - Design right
Design right is an automatic monopoly right that applies to original, non-commonplace designs of the shape or configuration of articles. It can last up to 15 years (10 years from the date of the first marketing). The right is more limited than a registered design, in that actual copying has to be established before infringement can be proved.
Designs - registered design
A registered design is a monopoly right for the outward appearance (also called "eye-appeal" or "look") of an article (or part of it) or a set of articles in manufacture, for example, jug and handle. It can last for a maximum of 25 years. A registered design is additional to any design right or copyright protection that arise automatically.
Domain Names
Domain names allow people to find information on the Internet. Just as postcodes are used for particular street names, computers connected to the Internet have unique numerical addresses so that electronic information is delivered to the right place. A domain name is a more user-friendly way of finding a website, rather than typing in a numerical computer address. A registered trade mark may not mean freedom to use the same mark as a domain name, because the same mark may be registered as a trade mark by different proprietors for different goods/services. Someone else may also have legitimately registered the mark as their domain name. Nominet UK is the Registry for United Kingdom Internet domain names and it provides a Dispute Resolution Service for domain name conflicts. See Cyber Squatting.
European Patent Convention (EPC)
The international convention governing the application for, processing and grant of a European patent.
European Patent Office (EPO)
The intergovernmental organisation (not part of the EU) set up to administer the EPC and to search and to examine European patent applications.
European Patents (EP)
A single patent application can be made to the European Patent Office, which can lead to the grant of a patent in each country designated by the applicant. Once granted, the European patent is treated as a bundle of separate, national patents.
