Step 6: Copyright and other Intellectual Property Rights

An innovative idea or creation can be protected in many different ways. As a researcher, student and, in some cases, other types of employee, there are special funds that you can apply for to help protect your innovative idea. However, it is important to keep in mind that it is often only in the initial steps that such funds can be used. The Grants and Innovation Office can help you get such funds. 

The use of patents for the protection of technical solutions (inventions) is well known, but there are two other forms of protection registered with the PRV (Patent and Registration Office), namely design and trademark protection. Often, the most effective method for protecting an idea is to combine the various forms of protection. In addition, it should be noted that company names and domain names should also be registered, and that the best protection is sometimes to keep the idea secret. In this section you can read more about the different forms of protection.

Copyright

As a researcher you have the right to determine how your research publications may be used. Copyright consists of two components: financial and intellectual rights. Financial rights entitle the creator of a work to publish or disseminate the work in question. Financial rights are usually transferred to the publishers when work is published in academic journals or books (if you don’t choose open access, see below). Intellectual rights entail that users of a work have to acknowledge the copyright holder when citing a work and that they may not distort a work.

Publication agreements

Conditions for use are stipulated in a publication agreement which you are expected to sign before your work is published. It is important to read the agreement thoroughly before signing it. There are a number of international agreement templates, as for example the SPARC Author Addendum, which may assist you in creating your own addendum to the publication agreement in accordance with your needs.

• SPARC Author Addendum

Open access

By publishing open access you can retain copyright and the right to determine the use of your material, while simultaneously fulfilling the funding organisations’ requirements. Use the SHERPA/RoMEO service to view publishers’ guidelines and different open access options. 

• SHERPA/RoMEO service

Using material produced by others

As a researcher and copyright holder you have the right to use material produced by others, under certain conditions. Images, photographs, illustrations, tables, etc. are protected by copyright and it is important to obtain the necessary permission if you use material produced by others in your publication.

Creative common licenses

Creative Commons (CC) is a licensing system that stipulates the usage of scholarly publications and other electronically published material. The licence clearly indicates the rights and limitations of usage. Many research funders require a so called CC-by license for publications that stem from research that is funded by them. CC-by licenses help the authors to retain copyright while allowing others to copy, distribute, and built on their work. Every Creative Commons license also ensures licensors get the credit for their work they deserve.

• Creative Commons (CC)
• Description of different licenses - Creative Commons

Other intellectual property rights

An innovative idea or creation can be protected in many different ways. As a researcher, student and, in some cases, other types of employee, there are special funds that you can apply for to help protect your innovative idea. However, it is important to keep in mind that it is often only in the initial steps that such funds can be used. The Grants and Innovation Office can help you get such funds. 

The use of patents for the protection of technical solutions (inventions) is well known, but there are two other forms of protection registered with the PRV (Patent and Registration Office), namely design and trademark protection. Often, the most effective method for protecting an idea is to combine the various forms of protection. In addition, it should be noted that company names and domain names should also be registered, and that the best protection is sometimes to keep the idea secret. In this section you can read more about the different forms of protection.

Trademarks

What is a brand?

Trademark protection gives you the sole proprietor the right to use the trademark as the hallmarks of the goods and services that you offer in your business. The brand covers much more than one logo. You can record the word image, number combinations, sounds, slogans, and more. A trademark can be used to protect (and provide traceability), for example, the name of a method, the name of a survey type, or a symbol that identifies a particular e-service.

The protection covers the class (or classes) you have sought protection within, which means that the protection applies to the kind of product / service that you deliver. Unlike patents, which have a limited time for protection of inventions, a trademark, which is renewed every 10 years, has no such limitation in protection.

Searching for more answers as: How much is a brand worth?, How do I apply for trademark protection?, What do the symbols ™ and ® mean? What does it cost to apply for trademark protection? And further contact GIO or go to the PRV (Patent and Registration Office) homepage here https://www.prv.se/en/

Design protection (Pattern Protection)

What does design protection cover?

Design protection, also known as the design protection, embraces the appearance of a product and gives the proprietor exclusive rights to its unique design. The product's function is thus not protected by the design protection. Like the patent and trademark, the design is also an intellectual property that can be sold. Design protection can make it easier to find investors and partners because it shows that there is a registered exclusive right that makes it more difficult for others to plagiarize the form.

Searching for more answers as: How do I apply for design protection?, What does it cost to seek design protection? and further contact Grants and Innovation Office or go to the PRV (Patent and Registration Office) homepage.

• Patent and Registration Office

Patent

What is patent?

The patent protects technical solutions to problems. The patent gives you the sole proprietor rights to exploit the invention. This means that no one else can earn money from the invention by, for example, manufacturing, selling or importing without your permission.

A patent is an asset that can be sold, exchanged and transferred. You can also license the right to use the patent. The patent is also a strategic instrument that can be used in the pursuit of investors or commercial partners. The commercial value is associated with the appearance of the market for the technical solution.

What is patentable?

A technical solution is patentable if it:

• Is a news to the public. This is an important criterion. The solution may not be presented orally or in writing, other than within the relevant college of researchers or in the case of an advisor / other actor covered by confidentiality. Note that the news value is lost if the technical solution has been published in a magazine or presented at a conference, as a poster or during a seminar.

• Has inventive height, that is, the technology differs significantly from what is known. Thus, it will not be apparent to the "skilled artisan" to come to the same invention.
   
• Can be applied industrially, which means that the solution should be reproducible and have a technical effect.

Searching for more answers as: How long does a patent apply? Are there any contradictions between a researcher between publishing and patenting? What should I consider before patent? Who owns the patent? What is a patent and how it is funded? and further contact Grants and Innovation Office or go to the PRV (Patent and Registration Office) homepage.

• Patent and Registration Office

Other forms of protection

Company and domain name

Remember that you can also protect the domain name and company name. Before choosing a company name or insert the name of their product / its offer should always verify that an appropriate domain name and domain are free. It has no right to a particular domain name just because you have registered it as a trademark. It can be strategically beneficial to register the domain name in several domains, such as .se and .com

The company name is registered with the Registration Office and facade covering outward. An important rule of thumb is that the name will make it possible to differentiate your business from other companies, organizations and brands. The name should also make it easier for customers and others to find your business.

Trade secret 

Sometimes the best defense is to keep secret the solution with the support of the Law on Protection of Trade Secrets (1990: 409). The law can prevent employees and others to disseminate information about the operating business conditions that are intended to cause damage to competition.