Intellectual Property
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), intellectual property (IP) refers to “creations of the mind: inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.” Intellectual property is protected by law through, for example, patens, copyrights and trademarks, allowing people to obtain recognition or economic benefits for what they invent or create.
Intellectual property is divided into two categories:
- Industrial property: includes patents for inventions, registered trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications.
- Copyright: includes literary works (such as novels, poems and works), films, music, artistic works (drawings, painting, photographs and sculptures), computer programs and architectural design.
What are intellectual property rights?
What is a patent?
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. For an invention to be patentable, it must be a patentable subject matter, novel and non-obvious or involving an inventive step.
What can be protected using patents? Patents are generally used to protect inventions.
What is copyright?
Copyright is a form of protection that Chilean laws provide to authors of “original works of authorship”. This protection is available for both published and unpublished works. The law generally gives the owner of the copyright the exclusive right to conduct and authorize various acts, including reproduction, public interpretation and commercial use of the works.
The copyright protection is automatically assured when a work is linked to a tangible medium such as a book, software code, video, etc.
What can be protected using copyright?
Literary works such as novels, poems, plays, reference works, newspaper articles; computer programs, databases; films, musical compositions, and choreography; artistic woks such as paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculpture; architecture; and advertisements, maps, and technical drawings. (WIPO)
What is a registered trademark?
A registered trademark is a distintive sign that identifies certain goods or services as those produced or delivered by a specific person or company. Registered trademarks help consumers select a product or service for they relate the trademark with a specific combination of features and quality.
A registered trademark gives protection to the owner of the trademark by assuring the exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services o to authorize another use in exchange for a payment.
