Intellectual property in media

CBL
Core issue: Intellectual property

Case 7: Wachowski Bros and Lucasfilm Ltd.

Problem statement: How to protect intellectual property in order to make profit?
The copyright law provides different options to protect intellectual property in any form. In particular, the registration of copyright through trademarks, patents or registered designs is very effective method to protect the copyright owner’s work. Moreover, developing an IP strategy as well as knowing your IP rights is the basis of the request of protecting ones work. In addition, importance of secrecy until you have filed a patent application is of utmost importance as inventions and designs cannot be registered unless they are totally new. If one is interested in obtaining a patent or design, it needs to be safeguarded and maintained in secrecy until the patent is filed. You may determine that keeping your invention a secret is better than applying for a patent and having to disclose the invention 's details. Protection in this manner is known as a trade secret.
Additionally, it can be said that the copyright owner also has different opportunities and options to generate profit from his copyright. The prevailing approach is to sell permission to use the work by others. This can also be applied to merchandising and repurposing, which are the two main sources to make profit with copyrights today. Secondly, filing patents and registering trademarks is a way to gain profit in order to protect but even more importantly increase the licensing clout to collect royalties from authorized parties. Also, one can profit from IP by repurposing which is the process of converting multimedia content from one format to another and representing it to handcraft the device, user and network characteristics, so in other words the process of finding a new purpose for an asset or product. Last but not least, if the method of franchising and merchandising is done correctly, it will help one to obtain royalties from its personal Intellectual Property.

1.What is intellectual property ?

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. It is divided into two categories:

Industrial Property- Includes patents for inventions (things that are new and not obvious and the way they work trademarks (brands and logos) industrial designs (protect the appearance of products – not the function which is protected by patents) and geographical indications
Copyright- Covers literary works such as poems, plays and novels, films, music and artistic works (drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures and architectual design. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recording, and broadcasters in their radio and television programs. Copyright protects the expression of ideas, i.e. the words you choose to describe your idea but not the idea itself. (WTO, n.d.)

IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish (WIPO, n.d.)

2.How to protect intellectual property?

In order to protect IP, several steps have to be taken into account whereas developing an IP strategy is essential to making the most of your investment.

Develop an IP strategy:

Tips for developing an IP strategy:
Consider ways you can use the IP system in your business strategy and integrate IP with your other competitive strengths.
Search the patent, trademark and design databases to ensure your ideas are new and avoid infringing the rights of others. Also search for new business opportunities and competitor activities.
Weigh the risks and the benefits of registered and unregistered rights. Secrecy and speed may be a better option than patenting.
Conduct an IP audit to ensure you own the IP you think you do, particularly if it has been produced by contractors.
Develop an infringement strategy and consider IP insurance.
Educate staff of their obligations and, where necessary, have them sign confidentiality agreements.
Make effective trademarks the core of your brand strategy (WIPO, n.d.)

Know your IP rights

Most businesses do not need the trinity of patents, trademarks, and designs; in fact, trademarks are probably the only IP most companies have or need, however for a few companies the full house is required: for example, if considering the Apple® iPad®: two registered trademarks, a registered design for its shape, and of course patents for the way it interacts with the user. Not to mention copyright covering the code and the packaging. A huge battle in the courts around the world is currently taking place over these rights that may well effect changes in the law. The Wall Street Journal calls the recent Apple/Samsung case “the patent trial of the century” (WIPO, n.d.)

Ensure your work is properly marked
A correctly worded notice will deter infringement, as it states that the work is protected under law.
Although a copyright notice is not required, (work is automatically subject to copyright protection under law), displaying a notice shows that you have an awareness of copyright and take infringements of your work seriously (WIPO, n.d.)
Importance of secrecy until you have filed a patent application
Inventions and designs cannot be registered unless they are totally new. If you are interested in obtaining a patent or design, you need to safeguard and maintain secrecy until you have filed your application. You may determine that keeping your invention a secret is better than applying for a patent and having to disclose the invention 's details. Protection in this manner is known as a trade secret. ‘’Novelty is key to patentability and your own disclosures count against you, so remember to file a patent application before telling anybody who is not bound by confidence.’’ (IPAustralia, 2014).
A good example is Coca-Cola. The drink 's formula has remained a trade secret for generations. There is no patent protection, and therefore no public disclosure or twenty year limit to its protection. Trade secrets work best where the product is difficult to reverse engineer and the knowledge can be protected with confidentiality agreements (IPAustralia, 2014).
Register your work
If your work is infringed and your claim to copyright is disputed (i.e. in a plagiarism case - where the other party claims the work is theirs), you may need evidence to help prove your claim.
This valuable evidence can be provided by our copyright registration service that provides verifiable proof of the date and content of your work. As specialists in this area, we ensure that you have the very best evidence to support your rights, while our service policies ensure that the evidence is always available when you need it (IPAustralia, 2014).

3.How to make profit from intellectual property?

There are various ways how one can exploit it’s work in a way to make profit out of copyright. The most apparent way is to sell permission to use the work by others. For example, Rolling Stones gave the permssion to a radio station that they can play their song on their programme.

The copyright owner has the following right on the work created:

*Exclusive rights to copy the work
*Exclusive rights to issue, rent or lent to public
*Exclusive rights to perform, show, play or ‘communicate the work’ in public
*Exclusive right to make an adaption on it.

If anyone else than the author itself wants to make use of the work, the copyright owner can sell a permission to do so.

According to Grant and Ashworth (2008), one can also make profit by filing patents and registering trademarks in order to protect but even more importantly increasing the licensing clout to collect royalties from authorized parties.

Also, one can profit from IP by repurposing which is the process of converting multimedia content from one format to another and representing it to handcraft the device, user and network characteristics, so in other words the process of finding a new purpose for an asset or product. For example the movie ‘’Cars’’ from Pixar was repurposed by transforming it into a brand as it was used for cartoon series, a game, and a fan club (Reyneveld, 2013).

Another main way to gain profit from copyrights is merchandising. Merchandising, in marketing context, means that brand or image from one product is used to sell another product or service. Brand names, logos or character images that are trademarked are licensed to manufacturers of products like clothing or toys, which make items emblazoned with the imge of license, hoping that they will sell better than the same item with no such image (Bainbridge, 2010).

Finally, another way to make profit is to franchise. It is a type of contractal relationship that includes some transfer of know-how and technical assistance by the franchisor. This can also be applied for the case as The Matrix franchise was created by Andy and Lana Wachowski but was distributed by Warner Bros Pictures (Bainbridge, 2010).

Bibliography
Bainbridge, D. I. (2010). Intellectual property (8th ed.). Harlow, England: Longman Pearson.
Grant, J., & Ashworth, C. (2008). Patents, registered designs, trade marks & copyright for dummies (UK ed.). Chichester: John Wiley.
Reyneveld, R. (2013). Lecture Law. Concept to Action. Lecture conducted from Stenden University of Applied Science, Leeuwarden, NL.
IPAustralia, (2014). How to protect Intellectual Property. Retrieved on 12th of June from http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/understanding-intellectual-property/how-to-use-ip/how-to-protect-your-ip/
PLOS, (n.d.). Ten simple rules to protect your Intellectual Property. Retrieved on 12th of June, from http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002766

WIPO (n.d.). What is Intellectual Property? Retrieved on 12th of June from http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/freepublications/en/intproperty/450/wipo_pub_450.pdf

WTO, (n.d.). What are intellectual property rights ? Retrieved on 12th of June, from http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/intel1_e.htm

Bibliography: Bainbridge, D. I. (2010). Intellectual property (8th ed.). Harlow, England: Longman Pearson. Grant, J., & Ashworth, C. (2008). Patents, registered designs, trade marks & copyright for dummies (UK ed.). Chichester: John Wiley. Reyneveld, R. (2013). Lecture Law. Concept to Action. Lecture conducted from Stenden University of Applied Science, Leeuwarden, NL. IPAustralia, (2014). How to protect Intellectual Property. Retrieved on 12th of June from http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/understanding-intellectual-property/how-to-use-ip/how-to-protect-your-ip/ PLOS, (n.d.). Ten simple rules to protect your Intellectual Property. Retrieved on 12th of June, from http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002766 WIPO (n.d.). What is Intellectual Property? Retrieved on 12th of June from http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/freepublications/en/intproperty/450/wipo_pub_450.pdf WTO, (n.d.). What are intellectual property rights ? Retrieved on 12th of June, from http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/intel1_e.htm