IP & Patent law is an issue most start-ups are concerned with. Ideas are currency in the start up world and the protection of them is essential. Last week Techmeetups ran an IP & Patent law master-class, giving a broad overview of what you need to know.
Fiona James of the Australian Copyright council kindly gave up two hours of her time, delivering an engaging and interactive presentation that covered off what Protection is available:
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Copyright
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Trademark
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Patent
For those who couldn’t make it, here are the definitions of the above:
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time. Generally, it is “the right to copy”, but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other related rights.
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a recognizable sign, design or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others. The trademark owner can be an individual, business organization or any legal entity. A trademark may be located on a package, a label, a voucher or on the product itself.
Patent
A Patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time, in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention.
The presentation included some funny and relevant examples including the example of “If a monkey steals your camera, who’s owns the photos”
(Photo courtesy of Spurgeonworld)
After an in-depth Q&A, people stayed and enjoyed the food and beverages kindly provided by our official sponsor of the night, Ninefold.
For more information on our master-classes or if you would like to suggest and run one please email Seb Haire
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