Different Types of IP Protection and Their Importance

Intellectual property rights are common types of legal protection for those who create. These IP rights have contributed extremely to the world, in particular, economically.

There are a number of companies in a variety of industries that rely on the enforcement of their patents, copyrights, and trademarks, while consumers can be assured of quality when they purchase IP-backed products. Let’s take a look at the benefits of IP rights, different types of intellectual property rights, and their importance.

Importance of IP Rights

The main purpose of IP rights is to motivate new creations such as technology, artwork, and inventions that may maximize economic growth. IP rights can increase the incentives for individuals in order to produce things that create job opportunities as well as new technologies as well as enable the world to improve and evolve even faster.

Intellectual property can create and support high-paying jobs

Intellectual property or IP industries hire over 45 million Americans and hundreds of millions of other people worldwide. The average worker in this industry can earn about 46% more than his or her counterpart in a non-IP industry.

Intellectual property can drive economic growth and competitiveness

The intellectual property of America is worth approx. US$6.6 trillion that is more than the nominal GDP of any other country throughout the world. IP industries account for over 1/3- or 38.2%- of overall U.S. GDP.52% of all United States merchandise exports are related to IP and this amount id around US$842 billion.

About IP Rights

IP rights definition: Intellectual property or IP rights are legal rights that provide creators protection for original works, or the appearance of products, scientific developments, artistic works, and more. There are four types of IP rights, including patent, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights.

Types of Intellectual Property Rights

Patent

A patent can be used to prevent an invention from being created, used, or sold by another party with permission. This is the most common type of intellectual property rights that can come to the mind of anyone when they think of IP rights protection. The owner of the Patent has all the rights to commercialize his/her/its patent such as buying and selling the patent or granting a license to the invention to any person under mutually agreed terms.

Trademark

Trademark is another familiar type of IP rights protection. It is a distinctive sign that allows consumers to identify the specific goods or services that a company provides. Some of the examples of a trademark are McDonald’s golden arch and the Facebook logo. A trademark can be in any form, including text, a phrase, symbol, sound, smell, or color scheme. Unlike patents, it can protect a set or class of products or services than just one product or process.

Trade secret

It is the secret of a business. It is proprietary systems, strategies, formulas, or other information that is confidential and not meant for unauthorized commercial use by others. It is a critical type of protection that can help businesses to increase competitive advantage.

Copyright

It does not protect ideas. It usually covers tangible forms of creations as well as original work. Some of the examples of copyrights are art, music, drawing, software codes, and more. The owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to sell, publish, or reproduce any dramatic, musical, literary, or architectural work created by the author.

IP rights protection provides a minimum amount of protection when they are utilized, they can maximize the benefit, and value of creation and allow world-changing technology to be developed, protected, and monetized.