Intellectual Property Rights and Competitiveness - European ...

IPR for ICT-Producing SMEs2.2 Classification of IPR2.2.1 OverviewThe system of intellectual property rights serves as a way to resolve the "appropriability"problem of knowledge, by creating property rights over knowledge. A precise definition isprovided by the World Intellectual Property Organization:"IP rights may be defined as exclusive rights granted by the State giving the owner theright to exclude all others from the commercial exploitation of a given invention,new/original design, trademark, literary and artistic work and/or new variety of plant."(WIPO, 2003a)IPR are classified in two main groups, formal (rights granted by the legal system) andinformal (where protection exists in practice but does not depend on a legal procedure),which may be used in alternative or complementary ways. In this study the term IPRincludes both formal and informal rights. This study analyses both methods, with greaterfocus on formal IPR and specifically on patents and copyrights.The main categories of formal and informal protection methods are listed in the table anddescribed in the following paragraphs.Exhibit 2-3: Classification of Formal IPR and Informal Protection MethodsFormal IPRPatentCopyrightTrademarkIndustrial design (registered and nonregistered)Other (special cases):Database sui generis rightsTopography of semiconductorDomain names.Informal Protection MethodsTrade secretLead time advantageComplexity of designDigital Rights ManagementSource: e-Business Watch (2007)2.2.2 Formal IP rightsThe most important and better-known IPR are patents and copyrights, while trademarksare the most diffused. They differ on the basis of the conditions at which the right isgranted, the starting date of validity, the duration of the protection, and the country ofvalidity, as shown by the following table.22