NHS Innovations North
Intellectual property
Intellectual Property is the general label given to patents, copyright, trade marks, designs and know-how(- all being things which are originally created in the mind). Intellectual Property rights offer protection to the originator or inventor and are valuable, tradable assets.
Patents
Copyright
Trade mark
Design registration
Design right
Patents
cover products or processes that possess or contain completely new functional or technical aspects; patents are therefore concerned with how things work, what they do, how they do it, what they are made of or how they are made. If someone comes up with a completely new or improved medical device, patent protection may be appropriate. A patent gives the owner an absolute monopoly right preventing others from using that invention, as specified in the patent claims.
Copyright
refers to legal protection for original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, sound recordings, films and broadcasts. It provides protection against copying; adapting; issuing; renting; and lending copies to the public; performing in public and broadcasting. Copyright occurs automatically when the work is produced. It does not need to be registered. In the NHS, copyright would protect any original written work, including training materials and computer software.
Trade mark
is a sign or badge, which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one trader from another. Examples include: - a word, phrase, logo, picture, smell or sound or a combination of these. A trade mark is usually used by companies as a marketing tool - so that customers can recognise the product of a particular trader.
Design registration
protects the visual appearance of an object. This can include the shape and configuration (three dimensional) or the pattern or ornament (two dimensional) applied to an article that appeal to the eye. A wallchart or unusually-shaped object could be protected.
Design right
is a right that applies to original, non-commonplace designs and protects any aspect of the shape or configuration (three dimensional) of manufactured items. It is not a monopoly right, but provides protection against copying in a similar way to copyright.