Such a concept as intellectual property is vital in modern society. In addition to the right to use and dispose of that property, the author has the ultimatum right to transfer or sell it for profit. Intellectual property implies regulation by law in general and is a complex mechanism for owning property. This work establishes the concept and types of intellectual property, as well as the importance of its existence with practical examples.
Intellectual property should be perceived as a set of rights of the author and other copyright holders that allow them to dispose of these very intangible objects, to prohibit and allow their use by third parties who have such intentions. There is a whole list of different types of intellectual property that fall under legislative protection (World Trade Organization):
- Copyright, intended to regulate the relations that develop in the case of the creation and use of scientific works, as well as works from the field of literature and art. A prerequisite here is the existence in an objective form of the original result of creative activity.
- Related rights are granted to works to which copyright does not apply due to lack of creativity. This kind of protection is needed by performing musicians, producers of phonograms and broadcasting.
- Patent law is a system of legal norms, according to which the tasks of protecting inventions, utility models and industrial designs are solved. A prerequisite here is obtaining a patent.
- Means of individualization are united by the need for legal protection of marketing designations. This category of IP includes trademarks, trade names, domain names, appellations of origin.
- Production secrets (know-how) are technologies, knowledge and skills that have no analogues. Protection in this case takes the form of a regime of trade secrets, containing advantages in terms of competitiveness (World Trade Organization). The protection of this type of IP consists in limiting the number of dedicated employees, using a non-disclosure agreement, and eliminating the possibility of identifying a know-how object.
- Non-traditional IP objects, such as topologies of integrated circuits, and selection achievements.
Thus, it can be concluded that there are many types of intellectual property, and each of them is protected by the state and is private and inviolable.
The exclusive right to inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, and appellations of origin of goods arises from the right holder only after state registration, from the moment of which the fact of protection of these objects is recognized (Moore and Himma). However, state registration does not guarantee the impossibility of violations of rights to any of the objects of intellectual property by third parties. In the event that a violation is detected, the right holder is required to take certain actions aimed at protecting his intellectual property rights with the help of law and the government.
Another phenomenon related to intellectual property is franchising. In the franchise era, Hollywood systems such as studio house style, genre, high concept, and fame are used to clearly distinguish between properties (Lomax). This film was released in 1962 and cost only 60 cents; however, after 60 years, the average ticket price is nine dollars, and James Bond is being released for the 25th time (Whitten). The producers of the James Bond did not succumb to the actual topic of franchising for a long time and tried to independently promote and shoot their films. However, unable to stay afloat alone, James Bond will continue to show on the big screen in collaboration with other major companies.
Another example is The Matrix. Its franchise is one of the highest-grossing and popularized in the media and worldwide. In addition to films, this franchise contains an anime series, video games on the main subject, and comics. The first three parts of this franchise were shoot by siblings Larry and Andy Wachowski. Then, in 2021, the fourth part of The Matrix was released, which was made without the participation of the Wachowski siblings, received support from other major media companies using franchising. Thus, it can be concluded that the existence of intellectual property is important and necessary to regulate the rights of authors to their creations and protect their interests.
Works Cited
Lomax, Tara. “The Franchise Era: Blockbuster Hollywood in the 2010s…and beyond – Senses of Cinema.”Senses of Cinema, 2019.
Moore, Adam, and Ken Himma. “Intellectual Property (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).” Stanford.edu, 2018. Web.
Whitten, Sarah. “Movies Now Have Their Own Museum.”CNBC, 2021.
World Trade Organization. “WTO | Intellectual Property (TRIPS) – What Are Intellectual Property Rights?”Wto.org, 2019.