All there is to know about Intellectual Property
Friday, 28 January 2022
People are creative but some of their projects might get stolen if they do not do what is necessary to protect them. That is when the Intellectual Property Law comes along and in this article, we share with you all you need to know about it.
What is Intellectual Property Law?
Intellectual Property (IP) law refers to the establishment, protection, and enforcement rights of the creators and owners of inventions, designs, brands, artwork, and music. These rights are promoted through patents, trademarks, copyright, and designs.
The ways to protect intellectual property
As we mentioned above, there are different ways to promote these rights, but what are they all about?
- Copyright law
It is responsible for protecting the rights of creators in their works in fine arts, publishing, entertainment, and computer software. The laws protect the owner of the work if others copy, present, or display the owner's work without permission.
- Trademark law
Trademark protects a word, phrase, symbol, or design that is used by an entity to identify its product or service.
Trademark owners can prevent others from using their marks, or marks which are confusingly similar so that consumers would not be able to identify the source.
Rights in trademarks are gained by being the first to use a trademark in commerce or being the first to register the mark.
- Patent law
This law grants protection for new inventions which can be products, processes, or designs, and provides a mechanism for the protection of the invention. The patent law promotes the sharing of new developments with others to foster innovation.
The patent is a property right that can be licensed, sold, mortgaged, or assigned.
- Trade secrets
This includes business practices, formulas, designs, or processes used in a business, designed specifically to provide a competitive advantage.
These trade secrets would not be otherwise known to an “outsider” of the business.
The importance of Intellectual Property Law?
Intellectual property protection is key to fostering innovation, because without the protection of ideas, businesses and individuals would not reap the full benefits of their inventions and would focus less on research and development. Similarly, artists would not be fully compensated for their creations and cultural vitality would suffer as a result.
Intellectual property (IP) contributes enormously to the national and state economies. This is because:
- It creates and supports high-paying jobs
- Intellectual property drives economic growth and competitiveness
- Strong and enforced intellectual property rights protect consumers and families
- It helps generate breakthrough solutions to global challenges
- Intellectual property rights encourage innovation and reward entrepreneurs
These rights are embraced by all sectors of the industry whether they are small, medium, or large companies; and by labor organizations, consumer groups, and other trade associations we bring together.
Lawyers tend to specialize in either contentious or non-contentious IP. Non-contentious work involves checking and registering a client’s rights through patents and trademarks, as well as drafting commercial agreements to issue licenses that allow others to use those rights.
Contentious work is when a client’s rights have been infringed or abused in any way.
This may also interest you: NFT Trademark Lawsuit Over Fashion Bags Heads To Federal Court
Why study intellectual property law?
When choosing to study a Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law, the student is guaranteed to progress into an exciting and ever-evolving area of law, and also learn to pay attention to detail, technical and scientific knowledge, and broader awareness of areas like commercial law, creative commons, and litigation.
This diploma will help the students learn about copyright law, trademark law, intellectual property law in the digital environment, patent law, and the law of registered design.
In other words, the Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law is a great opportunity for everyone interested in the subject as it offers you the unique opportunity to gain introductory knowledge of intellectual property
Counting with a diploma on this subject allows the future professional to choose between many career offers; all of them with a great salary
Where to study the Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law?
If you are currently living in South Africa, Stellenbosch University offers you the opportunity to study the Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law via classroom-based learning or via distance learning with the best teachers.
If you are interested in this diploma or would like to get more information about all of the other educational offers this university has, you may complete the form with your personal information
Also, we invite you to keep surfing our page Universities and Online Degrees Guide to know more about the learning opportunities available in South Africa. ¡The time to start studying what you like is here!