Intellectual Property
This week was all about intellectual property and how to keep the work that you produce protected. Before this lecture, I didn’t know much about this topic, so I was excited to learn more.
What is it?
IP is anything original that anyone creates using their mind. For example, the name of a product, the design of your product, the things you write, etc. People can also own intellectual property if they have bought the rights to it.
We also learned about copyright, patents, trademarks, and registered trademarks. For this blog post, I have decided to look more into trademarks as it’s something I want to learn more about.
Trademarks
A trademark is a type of intellectual property that identifies you as the owner of your products or services. It makes it clear that they belong to you and prevents others from stealing your idea or creating something similar. Therefore, it must be unique, so it isn’t confused with similar brands. Registered trademarks are renewed every 10 years.
The following are some things that can be trademarked:
- Word
- Logo
- Shape
- Pattern
- Colour or colour combination
- Sound
- Motion
Trademark examples
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola owns the trademark to their name and graphics such as their logo. They also have the trademark for their other products such as Fanta and Sprite. Having these trademarks prevents their designs from being stolen or people making similar logos, names, etc.
Their trademark symbol used to sit in the tail of the “C” in their original logo. They have since changed this to a registered trademark “R” at the end of their wordmark. You can see both the original and updated ones below.
McDonald’s
The name McDonald’s and their iconic golden arches are both registered trademarks. I found on their website that they allow you to use their logo for projects such as in movies, filming around a restaurant, using it in a book, etc.
If your request is accepted, you are given the right to use their logo. However, of course, there will be specific standards that must be followed. I think the reason they would allow people to use it is for recognition and free publicity.
Overall, I found this lecture interesting and it has given me a better understanding of intellectual property and an overview of what is involved.