IP Rights are rights given to the creators of works or inventions for the creations of their mind. These give the creator of the creation the right to exclude others from "stealing" their idea. You would not wan to someone to steal your belongings, in the same line of reasoning stealing or copying someones idea which usually requires some form of creativity, investment into its creation should be exclusive as well. Take the example of you creating a painting for on a canvas, then this may be a creation that may be protected by copyright after registration at the relevant authority (copyright office) and no one will be able to exactly "copy" it or earn any money from something that you have the sole or exclusive right to make use of. You may want to mass produce item which you created, then only you should be the rightful person to do so.
Intellectual property, very broadly, means the legal rights which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields.
Efficient, well-designed and balanced intellectual property (IP) systems are a key to promote investment in innovation and growth. Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are one of the principal means through which companies, creators and inventors generate returns on their investment in innovation and creativity[1]. The aforementioned is a general baseline rationale for all IPRs. Furthermore, another fact is that IPR’s contain an almost non-exhaustive list of protectable subject matter that may be protected and the prerequisites that they can encompass are very broad.
Reasons for IPR
To bestow moral and economic rights to creators for their creations and to clarify the rights of the public to access to those creations.
To encourage creativity and fair trading which would contribute to economic and social development.
By giving the creator of invention the right to exclude others from copying his/her invention this allows from innovation into the creation of intellectual creations. Intellectual Property Rights comprise of ;
Trademarks
Copyrights
Trade secrets
Patents
Design rights
Databases
Industrial property
and many more...
On an international level, minimum standards are set for Member states of the TRIPS to comply with or to. Yet EU regulations are (unitary) whereas directives are harmonized. As to the pre-requisites, Member States of the European Union have their own interpretations as to the criteria that qualify for protectable IPR (example Art 17(1) of design directive subject-matter.
The general structure, in order to get a understanding of the nuance provided by IPR’s can be analysed in the segments of
1) prerequisites,
2) Object of protection
3) Exceptions to protection
4) Term of protection
5) enforcement.
Evidently, there are limitations or exceptions to pre-requisites for the registration or protection of the IPR in the form of anything which falls outside. Hence, even though the an IPR will or can be classified as an IPR in the original sense of the pre-requisite, there are exceptions that make these attempts to have the IPR protected fall short of protection.
[1] Report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in third countries (europa.eu)IP law is not the easiest to comprehend but extremely important when it comes to trade for example. LexGo are experts at IP law and happy to help you!
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