Anomalies in intellectual property: an educational approach
Patents, copyrights, trademarks and designs: intellectual property is so easy to understand once you grasp the various goals of the different instruments of the IP family and its affiliated companions. Like in every good family, some of its members sometimes act weird and create false incentives. However, a thorough understanding of the dysfunctional instruments and situations helps students to become even better IP lawyers in future. For educational purposes this article focuses on four anomalies and dysfunctions of intellectual property law and illustrates them with famous examples.
I. The IP family in action
Which protection is best for your product – should it be patent, copyright, trademark or design1 protection? If your product is based on a new, non-obvious invention that is applicable in industry a patent could be the right choice (see art. 1 PatG2; art. 52 EPC3; 35 U.S. Code §§ 101–103). A patent grants exclusive protection for twenty years from the date of filing (art. 14…
