The Protection of Patents Trademarks Industrial Designs and

The Protection of Patents, Trademarks, Industrial Designs and GIs and Their Role in Trade and Commerce Denis Cohen, WIPO 1

Fields of Industrial Property • Patents (protect technical features) • Trademarks (protect a sign in relation to goods and/or services) • Designs (protect the external appearance of a product) • GI’s (geographical names identifying a product from that place, the quality of which is attributable to its geographical origin) 2

Patents 3

Patents 4

Trademarks 5

Designs 6

Designs 7

Geographical Indications 8

Geographical Indications 9

Fields of Industrial Property • In contrast with copyright, the common denominator to industrial property (patents, trademarks and designs) lies in the fact that: protection requires registration 10

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION Examples of Fees (for a trademark registration covering one class of goods or services): • • Australia: 345 $; Canada: 440 $; France: 290 $; India: 55 $; Japan: 735 $; Morocco: 70 $; USA: 375 $; Norway: 360 $; Singapore: 220 $; Spain: 240 $; Switzerland: 560 $; UK: 380 $; OAPI: 780 $ EC: 2, 240 $ 11

Examples of Designs Fees (for 1 Design) • • Australia: 150$; Canada: 350$; France: 90$; India: 45 $; Japan: 480$; Maroc: 40$; USA: 320$; Norway: 200$; Singapore: 150$; Spain: 110$; Switzerland: 200$; UK: 180$; OAPI: 155$ European Community: 450$ 12

Role of IP in Trade and Commerce • Common denominator to patents, trademarks, designs And GI’s: protection entails monopoly of rights for the owner • privileged situation in the market 13

Role of IP in Trade and Commerce When buying a product, consumers decisions are mainly influenced by: • price • technical qualities (patents) • name or reputation (trademark) • external appearance (designs) Designs: tend nowadays to become the most decisive factor 14

Duration of IP Rights • Patents (20 years) • Designs (from 10 to 50 years according to the country concerned) • Trademarks (10 years but can be indefinitely renewed for additional periods of 10 years); The fact that trademark protection can be endless accounts for the valuation of marks which may reach huge figures 15

World’s Most Valuable Brands 2006 Ran k Brand Country of origin Sector value ($M) 1 Coca Cola US Beverages 67, 000 2 Microsoft US Computer Software 56, 926 3 IBM US Computer Services 56, 201 4 GE US Diversified 48, 907 5 Intel US Computer Hardware 32, 319 6 Nokia Finland Telecom equipment 30, 131 7 Toyota Japan Automotive 27, 941 8 Disney US Media/Entertainme nt 27, 848 9 Mc. Donald’s US restaurants 27, 501 10 Mercedes German y Automotive 21, 795 16

World’s Most Valuable Brands 2006 (cont’d) Rank Brand Country of origin Sector 11 Citi US Financial Services 21, 458 12 Marlboro US Tobacco 21, 350 13 Hewlett-Packard US Computer Hardware 20, 458 14 American express US Financial services 19, 641 15 BMW Germany Automotive 19, 617 16 Gillette US Personal care 19, 579 17 Louis Vuitton France Luxury 17, 606 18 Cisco US Computer Services 17, 532 19 Honda Japan Automotive 17, 049 20 Samsung Korea Consumer electronics value ($M) 16, 169 17

International Registration Treaties • Patents: the Patent Cooperation treaty (PCT) on June 19, 1970. Membership: 132 States (including Australia) • Trademarks: the Madrid Agreement and Protocol Concerning the International Registration of Marks. Membership: 82 States (including Australia) • Designs: Adoption of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Designs Membership: 47 States • GI’s: The Lisbon Agreement Concerning International Registration Membership: 27 States 18