Patent Searching, Retrieval and Analysis

Abstract

1. Introduction 1.1 Intellectual Property The term intellectual property reflects the creation of mind which a person can protect as an intangible property. The subject matter which is referred to as intellectual property is a result of human intellect. Intellectual Property may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property. Thus, Intellectual property (IP) is a legal concept, which refers to creations of the mind that arose out of a person’s intellect and for which exclusive rights are recognized. 1.2 Intellectual Property Right (IPR) These are exclusive set of rights and rules which protect creations of human intelligence and are intangible in nature. IPR are rights granted to creators and owners of works that result from human intellectual creativity for protecting their work from being copied or used by others without permission. These works can be in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic domains, which can be in the form of invention, a manuscript, a suite of software or business name. 1.2.1 Types of IPR  Copyright: Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use and distribution, usually for a limited time, with the intention of enabling the creator of intellectual wealth (e.g. the photographer of a photograph or the author of a book) to receive compensation for their work. It provides protection to an author’s work (composition/written material) from being copied. Validity of copyright is for the lifetime of authors, plus 50 years after their death.