Introduction to
Intellectual Property
Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks
Sheikha Nasser Al-Akhzami
Innovation Affairs Department
Sultan Qaboos University
Reasons to protect IP
1. Give statutory expression to the moral and
economic rights of creators in their creations
and the rights of the public in access to those
creations.
2. Promote creativity and the dissemination and
application of its results to encourage fair
trading which will contribute to economic and
social development.
World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO)
Is one of the specialized agencies of the
United Nations system of organizations.
Established in 1967
Tow branches of IP:
Industrial Property
Copyright
What are IP rights
Literary, artistic and scientific works,
Performances
of
performing
artists,
phonograms and broadcasts,
Inventions in all fields of human endeavor,
Scientific discoveries,
Industrial designs,
Trademarks, service marks and commercial
names and designations,
Protection against unfair competition,
Types of IP rights
Patent
Copyright
Related Rights
Trademarks
Industrial Designs
Trade Secrets
Folklore and Traditional Knowledge
Geographical Indication
New Plants Varieties
Patent
Is a document, issued upon application by a
government or regional office, which describes an
invention and creates legal situation in which the
patented invention can only be exploited
(manufactured, used, sold, imported) with the
authorization of the owner.
Any invention may relate to a product or a process.
The protetion conferred by the patent is limited in
time (20 years)
Conditions of patentability
Must consist of patentable subject matter.
Must be new (novel).
Must exhibit a sufficient (inventive step).
Must be industrially applicable (useful).
Disclosure in the patent application
must meet certain standards.
Exceptions to patentability
Discoveries of materials or substances already existing in
nature;
Scientific theories or mathematical methods;
Plants and animals other than microorganisms, and
essentially biological processes for the production of plants
and animals, other than non-biological and microbiological
processes;
Schemes, rules or methods, such as those for doing
business, performing purely mental acts or playing games;
Methods of treatment for humans or animals, or
diagnostic methods.
Any invention which is banned in Oman
in order to protect the public order and morale.
Disclosure of an invention
(Prior art)
1. Description of the invention in a published
writing or publication in other forms;
2. Description of the invention in spoken words in
public, includes lectures and radio broadcasts.
“oral disclosure”;
3. Use of the invention in public, or by putting the
public in a position that enables them to use it.
Can be by display, sale, demonstration,
unrecorded broadcasts. “disclosure by use”.
Patent registration
1. Oman patent system is not activated yet.
2. GCC patent office take long time for patent
examination.
3. Patent should be drafted carefully by specialized staff:
not too narrow and not too broad
4. Recommend to register as PCT application in WIPO or as
US patent.
Utility Model
Inventions also protectable through registration
under “utility model” or “short-term patent”.
Requirements re less strict than patents, in
particular in respect to inventive step.
Fees are lower.
Duration of protection is shorter (10 years).
Copyright law
protects the forms of expression of ideas, not the
ideas. It protects creativity in the choice and
arrangement of words, musical notes, colors,
shapes..
Protects the owner of the rights in artistic works
against those who “copy”
Must be an original creation, idea do not need to
be new.
Duration: life of the author/s and not less than 50
years after death of last author.
Subject matter of copyright
literary works: novels, stories, poems, dramatic
works and oral works; whether published or
unpublished
Musical works: songs, choruses, operas, musicals..
Artistic works: drawings, paintings, sculptures,
architectural works…
Maps and technical drawings
Photographic works
Motion pictures: TV broadcasting, films, cartoons…
Computer programs
Works of applied arts: jewelry, lamps, furniture…
Related Rights
Rights granted to protect the:
- Performers;
- Producers of phonograms;
- Broadcasting organizations.
Assist intellectual creators to communicate their message
and to disseminate their works to the public at large.
Duration: life of the author/s and not less than 50 years
after death of last author.
Trade mark
Service Mark
Any sign made up of words, drawings,
letters, colors, numbers, product shapes,
pictures,
geographical
indications,
sounds, scents, or flavors that is applied
to a product or a service as a method to
identify the source of that product
Trade mark
The initial period for protection of a
registered a trademark is 10 years,
however, this period can be renewed
indefinitely as long as the product is still
in use.
Criteria of TM
A trademark, in order to function, must be
distinctive not descriptive.
• Apple for computers,
• Nawras for telecommuniction
Must be distinguishable from trademarks of
other goods or services in the same industry.
Collective Mark
Owned by an association which itself does not use the
collective mark but whose members may use the
collective mark;
They may use the collective mark if they comply with the
requirements fixed in the regulations concerning the use
of the collective mark.
Users of a collective mark form a “club”
Example: Batinah farmers
Certification Mark
Only be used in accordance with the defined
standards.
May be used by anybody who complies with the
defined standards.
Example: ISO2000.
Other Marks
Audible Signs (Sound Marks): Two typical categories of sound
marks can be distinguished, namely those that can be
transcribed in musical notes or other symbols and others (e.g.
the cry of an animal).
Olfactory Marks (Smell Marks): Imagine that a company sells its
goods (e.g. writing paper) with a certain fragrance and the
consumer becomes accustomed to recognizing the goods by
their smell.
(Invisible) Signs: Examples of these are signs recognized by touch.
Cases
The United States of America is the first country to have recognized
the registrability of a smell mark— fresh floral fragrance
reminiscent of Plumeria blossoms for sewing thread and
embroidery yarn—TTAB(1990).
In a decision in1999, the Board of Appeal of the Office for
Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trademarks and Designs) of
the European Community supported the registrability of the smell
mark “the smell of fresh cut grass” for tennis balls.
Dilution of TM
TM can be generic term used in dictionaries
• Select
• Kleenex
• Xerox
• Suntop
• Fridge
• Google
Industrial design
2D
Industrial Design
3D
Folklore & Traditional Knowledge
New Plant Varieties
Geographical Indications (GI)
Knowledge Economy
Traditional
Economy
Knowledge Economy
Tangible Assets
Land, Factories, Equipments,..etc
Intangible Assets
Intellectual Property
Infringement of IP
BIO-PIRACY
Cocoa Butter
•
Biological Resources from: Ghana, Indonesia, Cameroon,
Nigeria
•
Product from: Holand and US
Basmati Rice
• Basmati VS Kasmati
• India produce more than 80% of rice
• Generically modified Rice from: Texas in
US.
Triple Helix Model
Government University Industry
•
Innovation Process
REINVEST IN RESEARCH
Innovation Flow
SULTAN QABOOS UNIVERSITY
Research
Centers
Colleges
Innovation Affairs Department
Intellectual
Property
Marketing
Incubators
Science Park
Other G overnment Units
The Research
Council
Industrial
Innovation Center
Innovation
&Entrep.
Society
Student Initiative
Support
Cooperation
Ministry of
Commerce &
Industry
Ministries
Knowledge Oasis
Muscat
Industry
38
Benefits
Free Patent Registration
Associated with Firm for Patent Search & Patent
Drafting
Deciding on the Best option to protect &
commercialize
Ensure to Commercialize the Invention
Take the IP beyond Exhibition and Competition.
Innovation Affairs Department
Deanship of Research
Extension: 5930/5927
E-mails: innovation@squ.edu.om
akhzami@squ.edu.om