This post discusses some aspects of intellectual property (IP) focused on information technologies.
Intellectual Property Legal Protection Measures
Intellectual property protection mechanisms featured on this post:
- Copyright
- Trademark
- Patent
- Trade secrets
Copyright
Copyright is a right by law that guarantees the creators of “original works of authorship” protection against the unauthorized duplication of their works. They consider generally creative works. In the case of software, it protects the source code.
The copyright does not protect other elements than the source code itself, like ideas, procedures, etc. within software.
Copyright provides the legal framework for software creators to control the use, modification and distribution through the use of software licenses. You can read more about software licenses on this post.
In the USA, copyright is applied in a US Copyright Office from this external link.
Internationally, there are two World Intellectual property Organization (WIPO) treaties and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, adopted in 1986.
Copyleft
Copyleft is a type of copyright that allows free use, distribution and modification of the original work as long as derived works keep the same license. It is a type of software license, and not an IP protection mechanism itself.
Trademark
A trademark protects name and logo of brands.
In the USA, trademarks must be registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Lanham Act applies to trademark protection cases in the USA.
Patent
A patent protects intellectual property of industrial processes during 20 years. After this time, it becomes public domain.
Trade Secrets
A trade secrets, unlike a patent, does not require to make public the aspect to receive legal protection and it never expires.
IT Intellectual Property Technical Protection Measures
Digital right management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM) like access control technologies, can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works.
IT Intellectual Property Regulations by Country
Countries featured:
- USA
USA
Intellectual Property Regulations in USA:
- Economic Espionage Act
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Economic Espionage Act
Economic Espionage Act punishes the revelation of trade secrets.
It was approved in 1996.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) was designed to adapt the copyright laws in the USA to digital media.
It was approved in 1998.
It punishes the circumvention of copyright protection mechanisms, including those related to CDs and DVDs.
It also limits the liability of internet service providers (ISPs) when their circuits are used by third parties to violate criminal law, when specific circumstances are met. They can be summarize as that the ISP has no direct involvement in the transmission.
Services providers must delete links to copyrighted material upon request, though they are not made responsible.
There are provisions for backup copies, as long as they are individual.
Spain
Intellectual Property Regulations in Spain:
- Ley de Propiedad Intelectual
Ley de Propiedad Intelectual
Ley de Propiedad Intelectual, aprobado por Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1996, de 12 de abril
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External references
- Chapman et al; “CISSP 9th Edition”, pp. 152-157
- Spain Intellectual Property Regulations
- Ministry of Culture of Spain; “La propiedad intelectual en general“; Ministry of Culture of Spain