Chapter – 4 Hari Prasad Aryal

Building Intellectual Property Rights

 A researcher needs to not only know how to effectively and ethically conduct research, but also
must be aware of the rights that the intellectual property developed during the process of
research work entails.
 Intellectual property rights are the rights given to persons over the creations of their
minds.
 The major types of Intellectual Property are
1. Trademarks: A trademark is a sign that suitably differentiates the owner’s goods or services
from those of others.
2. Patents: A patent is a legal record that bestows the holder the exclusive right over an
invention as per the claims, in a limited geographical domain and for a limited duration by
thwarting possible interested parties from any form of manufacture, use or sale of the
product or outcome of the invention. In theory, the applicant (or inventor) can draft a
patent application but given the technical and procedural complexity, in practice, patent
lawyers and researchers collaboratively write such applications.
3. Industrial Designs: An industrial design protection is related to certain specific ornamental
shapes associated with products whose duplication the owner may wish to thwart.
4. Copyright: Copyright is the right bestowed on the owner or creator in relation to
publication, and distribution of a piece of writing, music, picture or related works. Copyright
also applies to technical contents such as software, datasheets, and related documents.

Codes and Standards

 Standards are published specifications, criteria, and guidelines for the performance or
composition of a product or process.
 Standards are created by a variety of organizations and may be voluntary or legally mandated
which increase quality, reliability, and interoperability are.
 For example, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standards are a set of global
standards related to different fields of Electrical Engineering.

Patents: Subject and Importance

 A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that
provides a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem.
 To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public in a
patent application.
 Patents contain solutions to technical problems, reveal the current state-of-the-art, and provide
vital information for decision making on new research projects and business opportunities.
 A granted patent is presumed valid until a successful challenge, and can be invalidated by the
existence of a prior art discovery or for other reasons.
 Patents contain descriptive and useful technical information (including drawings or diagrams)
that may not be found elsewhere.
 Patents assist in both design and academic research, and can be easily located with its
application, publication, or patent number.
 Sometimes, patent numbers can be found on products, packaging, or within documentation.

Requirements for Patentability

 The requirements of patentability may be categorized as novelty, utility, and

nonobviousness.
1. Novelty:

2. Utility/Industrial Application:

3. Nonobviousness/Inventive Step


Application Preparation and Filing

Patents and Commercialization in Academia