This document discusses different ways to protect ideas and intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, registered designs, copyright, and trade secrets. It provides details on each method of protection: patents provide a limited monopoly on inventions in exchange for public disclosure, trademarks protect signs that distinguish goods/services, registered designs protect product designs, copyright automatically protects creative works, and trade secrets protect confidential business information as long as reasonable steps are taken to maintain secrecy. The document advises considering these various forms of intellectual property protection to block competitors, generate licensing royalties, or sell protected rights.

1. What’s the best
way to protect my
idea?
Prof. Ghada M. Amer
Vice Dean for Postgraduate and
research
Faculty of Engineering – Benha
University

2. Today’s
talk…
• Why do you
need to protect
your ideas?
• Different ways
of protecting
your ideas
By Prof. Ghada Amer 2

3. So, why do you need to protect your ideas?
Intellectual Property..
“…..is an asset product of the
creativeness of the human mind,
or intellect.”
By Prof. Ghada Amer 3

4. Protect your ideas
using……
1. Patents
2. Trademarks
3. Registered Designs
4. Copyright
5. Secret
Information/Know-how

5. What is a Patent?
Abraham Lincoln
• The Patent system adds:
– “the fuel of interest to the fire of genius”
1. Patent
By Prof. Ghada Amer 5
• A patent is a contract between the state
and the applicant. It requires:
– public disclosure of an invention in return
for a limited (years) monopoly

6. What is a patent?
• A patent is a property right
• The right to stop others from exploiting
an invention without permission
• A patent is a regional right
• It grants its owner rights within a given
authority
By Prof. Ghada Amer 6

7. What is a
patent?
• Patents are one of the oldest
forms of intellectual property
protection
• as with all forms of protection
for intellectual property, the aim
of a patent system is to
encourage economic and
technological development by
rewarding intellectual creativity.
By Prof. Ghada Amer 7

8. SUBJECT MATTER PATENTABLE
• A PROCESS
• A MACHINE
• A COMPOSITION OF
MATTER
• A MANUFACTURE
By Prof. Ghada Amer 8

9. INVENTION PATENTABLE
IF........
• NEW
• USEFUL
• NOT OBVIOUS
• Related to SUBJECT
MATTER
• GRANT OF PATENT IS
NOT BARRED
By Prof. Ghada Amer

10. What Does a Patent look Like?

11. How do we make use of
Patents?

12. LICENSING
Or
Negotiate a successful partnership.
By Prof. Ghada Amer 12

13. What is a License?
• A contract between
licensor and licensee.
• Licensor grants to
licensee the right to
practice the technology
claimed in the licensed
patent
• Licensor agrees not to
sue licensee for
infringing licensor’s
patent
By Prof. Ghada Amer 13

14. Trademarks
A Trademark is:
any sign that can distinguish the goods or services
of one trader from those of another.
Includes:
• any sign capable of being represented graphically,
• particularly words,
• including personal names,
• designs,
• letters,
• numerals,
• the shape of goods or
• their packaging.
2.Trademarks
By Prof. Ghada Amer 14

15. Trademarks
• Main Brand – “Apple”
• Sub-Brands:
– iPod
– iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iPod photo, iPod
color, iTunes
• Rectangular screen + circular input device
By Prof. Ghada Amer 15

16. Other Examples
• Logos
By Prof. Ghada Amer 16

17. Other Examples…….
• Shapes toblerone
coca cola bottle
pot noodle
dyson
By Prof. Ghada Amer 17

18. Other Examples
• Sounds: Nokia opening ringtone
• Colours: purple (cadbury’s)
• Smells:
By Prof. Ghada Amer 18

19. Conditions for grant of a trademark
• To be registrable your trade
mark must be:
– unique for the goods or services
which you are applying to register
it for,
– not unreliable, or conflicting to law
or ethics,
– not similar or identical to any
earlier marks for the same or
similar goods or services.
By Prof. Ghada Amer 19

20. Registered
Designs
• A registered design protects the
appearance of the whole or a part of a
product
• i.e. protects features of
Lines, contours, colours, shape, texture,
materials of the product or its
decoration.
• 25 year control
3. Registered
Designs
By Prof. Ghada Amer 20

21. Conditions for the grant of a Design
Must be:
- New
- Have individual
character
By Prof. Ghada Amer 21

22. Copyright
• Copyright is a protection that covers:
published and unpublished literary, scientific
and artistic works, whatever the form of
expression,
provided such works are fixed in a tangible or
material form.
• Eg. Books, music, databases, computer software,
paintings, statues, plays, photographs, films,
videos, etc.
4. Copyright
By Prof. Ghada Amer 22

23. Copyright
• Automatic right that exists from date of creation
• Not a control – only prevents copying
• Keep evidence of “date of creation”
• Use © to warn others against copying
By Prof. Ghada Amer 23

24. Secret
Information/Know-how
WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION QUALIFIES AS A
TRADE SECRET ?
5. Secret
Information/
Know-how
By Prof. Ghada Amer 24

25. TRADE SECRET
• Provides
competitive
advantage
• Potential to make
money
Kept
confidential
By Prof. Ghada Amer 25

26. TRADE SECRET
Financial
information
Technical &
scientific
information
Commercial
information
Negative
information
By Prof. Ghada Amer 26

27. Three essential legal
requirements:
1. The information
must be secret
2. It must have
commercial value
because it’s secret
3. Owner must have
taken reasonable
steps to keep it
secret
WHAT MAKES SOMETHING A TRADE
SECRET ?
By Prof. Ghada Amer 27

28. Registered versus
Unregistered
• Registered Rights:
– Patents, Registered Trademarks, Registered
Designs, Domain Names
• Unregistered Rights
– Copyright, Design Right, unregistered
trademarks, confidential information, know-
how
By Prof. Ghada Amer 28

29. Using your IP Rights
• Block competitors
• License others to generate royalties
– Eg. “Ring Pull” for cans invented in 1963 by
Ermal Fraze. 1/10th penny for each can sold.
Coca Cola alone made £148,000,000 cans
per day, so paid £148,000 per day in license
fees!
• Sell the IP rights
By Prof. Ghada Amer 29

30. Success
By Prof. Ghada Amer 30

31. QUESTIONS?
All best
Ghada.amer@bhit.bu.edu.eg
Facebook: Prof. Ghada Amer