Trademark:
Trademark is a sign to identify the goods and services of different businesses. A trademark can consist of characters (including names), signs, designs, letters, characters, numbers, graphic elements, colors, sounds, smells, the shapes of commodities or their packages, and any combination of the above signs. Marks that can be expressed in words or pictures can be registered as trademarks.
Patents:
As the patent owner, you can exercise the legal rights granted by the patent and prohibit others from manufacturing, using, selling or importing your patented invention, thus protecting related inventions.
Design:
Designs of various products can be registered, including computers, telephones, CD players, textiles, jewelry and watches. Registered designs only protect the appearance of products, such as the appearance of computer monitors. The registration of design does not protect the operation mode of design products. The operation mode of products is protected by patent law, while computer software is protected by copyright law.
The owner of a registered design has the right to prevent others from manufacturing, importing, using, selling or renting its design products.
The protection period of a registered design is up to 25 years, and it is updated every five years.
Copyright:
Generally speaking, copyright is a right granted to the owner of original works, which can exist in the typesetting and arrangement of published versions of literary works (such as books and computer software), musical works (such as composition), dramatic works (such as stage plays), artistic works (such as painting, painting and sculpture), sound recordings, movies, radio, cable communication programs, literature, drama and musical works, and performers. Copyright works disseminated through the Internet are also protected.
In fact, copyrighted works are not necessarily artistic, original or creative. Even if it is as simple as an ordinary life photo, you can have copyright.
Copyright is an automatic right. After the creation is completed, the relevant works have copyright. The difference between copyright and other types of intellectual property such as patents, trademarks and industrial designs is that copyright can be protected by Hong Kong laws without being registered in Hong Kong. In fact, there is no official registry in Hong Kong to register copyright works.
Trade secrets (undisclosed business information)
When applying for a patent, the details of the invention must be disclosed. In other words, the details of the invention patent cannot be kept confidential as trade secrets and undisclosed business information. As mentioned above, patents are protected for a limited time, but as long as the relevant information remains confidential, trade secrets and undisclosed business information can continue to exist.
Copyright only protects ideas and ways of expressing information, not ideas and information itself. Secrecy protects the content of ideas and materials, no matter how they are expressed. For works protected by copyright, there are licensing acts in the law, but statutory licensing acts do not apply to works protected by the secrecy law.
The above are just some basic principles about trade secrets and undisclosed business information. Please seek independent professional advice to protect your business secrets and undisclosed business information.
Layout design (topology) of integrated circuits
Layout design (topology) of integrated circuits
Layout-design of Integrated Circuits (Topology) Ordinance (Chapter 445)
Plant variety protection
Regulations on the Protection of Plant Varieties (Chapter 490)
Plant species protection (the rights of plant breeders)