Have you ever woken up one morning with the idea to create an invention that no one else knows about? Well what if I told you that someone was able to steal your idea without being charged a cent. You’d feel a lot of anger and frustration building up inside you right? This is the turning point where you take matters into your own hands, but how would you do that without knowing what to do? Yep you guessed it, Welcome to the world of intellectual property laws and copyright infringement.
Intellectual property refers to the ownership of intangible and non-physical goods. This includes ideas, names, designs, symbols, artwork, writings, and other creations. It also refers to digital media, such as audio and video clips that can be downloaded online. (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.
Copyright basically refers to intellectual property; only thing is it refers to laws that regulate the use of the work of a creator, such as an artist or author. This includes copying, distributing, altering and displaying creative, literary and other types of work. Unless otherwise stated in a contract, the author or creator of a work retains the copyright.
A patent is a right that is granted for any device, substance, method or process that is new, inventive, and useful. A patent is legally enforceable and gives you (the owner), exclusive rights to commercially exploit the invention for the life of the patent. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.
Referring to the question “Is intellectual property laws ruining the game & graphic design industry?” one would see this view of intellectual property laws, essential to everyday part of life