Aldis Property - Methods for Commercialising Intellectual Property - Case Study Example

Intellectual Property; Case Study of Aldi’s Property Name: Institution: Intellectual Property; Case Study of Aldi’s Property Introduction Intellectual property is a term used to refer to the intangible creations and innovations that deal mainly with designs, inventions and artistic works. These are the creations of the mind that achieve the commercial viability of market either in terms of services and products. Intellectual property law is therefore, the legal mechanism used in enforcing the rights of ownership of the products in question hence creating control of such intangible assets(Ang,2014). The Aldi’s intellectual property for instance is an example of such an invention created to serve the medical field1. The continuous fight for the legal ownership of the services and the products as in this case gives true meaning to the aspect of intellectual property law. The legal battle was between the German supermarket and a café on the trademark claim which resulted in the win favoring the latter(Ang,2014). There are various other matters that affect the intellectual property affairs such as commercializing of products and services, the roles in the business fields, the collecting copyright societies to name but a few. Methods for commercialising intellectual property Commercialising intellectual property refers to the process of getting personal and innovative products and services into market. This process allows an individual to have the opportunity to participate in the marketing and sales business with other products already commercialised. The method or strategy used to achieve this however, is dependent on the person’s business capabilities, the competitiveness of the product, the environment surrounding the product and the access to the finances that spearhead the process. There are a number of ways in which this commercialisation comes to be,one can assign their intellectual property by transferring the ownership to the assignee, and another is a franchising agreement whereby an individual makes an agreement to lend the property at a fee for the use. The other method is the use of licensing in the form of patents, copyright and trademarks that ensure the property is secure in business. Licensing however,is the most common method that many companies have taken to ensure their products are in the market. The operation and purposes for the collecting societies Numerous collecting societies are responsible for carrying out this licensing task today. Among them include; Viscopy, APRA, AMCOS and CAL in Australia. Viscopy Viscopy is a legal entity by itself and is run under a board and the respective members of the entity. It is one of the copyright agencies in Australia responsible for the licensing of products in terms of use of text or images. Their value as a non-profit organization ensures payment to the individuals responsible for the text in play. In addition, it may give temporary or permanent licenses to use an artwork solely for the individual’s specific needs and the artwork cannot be used by another person. This therefore makes it possible to commercialize any art and in the process ensure a strengthened economic opportunity for the products. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is yet another copyright agency that is centered on the Australian financial industry2. The entity oversees the operations considered matters of intellectual property in various financial institutions such as; banks, building societies, insurance companies, friendly financial societies and other annulation societies. The industries that rely on the services of this agency are responsible of all the required funding of the company and in return, the entity ensures that all the financial declarations and promises are met sufficiently3. The responsibility of this agency in a widely competitive financial system therefore, ensures that all the processes are stable and efficient for the safeguard of the financial intellectual properties brought forward. Lastly, they facilitate the well-being and the integrity of the Australia’s retirement incomes policies. The Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) is a similar copyright agency as the ones above only that, it is in the music industry rather than finance and art4. Here, both the music writers and the ones that produce are under their representation in licensing of musical works both in production and in reproduction of the same. There are various limitations in this sector since the licensing of the print form of reproduction of musical works is not as freely accessible as the audio. APRA offers its services to this agency but the two are still regarded as separate entities in terms of operation each with its members and its board.Finally yet importantly, there is the CAL copyright agency which is similar to Viscopy ensuresthat the use of texts and images done by another individual receive due payment. The entity however, manages the processes and procedures of the Viscopy business in terms of services to the artists and the subsequent users of the product. Role of intellectual property in business and the value to items used The main role of intellectual property in business of course is the fostering of an environment suitable for the flourishing of creativity and innovation(Ang,2014). The benefit comes in whereby an inventor is assured that the efforts in creating something of value will not go unnoticed. In addition, the inventor is able to solely benefit economically as is the aspiration in any business making the product or service more reasoned out to draw in the attention of the public. Overall, the balance between the consumers and the inventor exists and that is quite essential in the business world. Secondly, the immersion into the intangible assets business world creates a range of employment and job opportunities by diversification which is very crucial in the business world. Indulging into the creative arts, designs and other creations of the mind offers a different view and shows the capabilities of different individuals. These symbols, designs, drawings, marks and other creations are then incorporated in other existing business avenue which makes the intellectual property an asset to the general economic spectrum of any country. Patent coverage is also another role and function that comes with intellectual property. For instance in sports, one way to compete with another company is to invest in the personal patent in a waythat it gains recognition enough to have a competitive edge. The patent will ensue that there are no copies done and hence it can be a suitable bargaining chip to gain the attention of customers. In intellectual property, idea may be the same but the articulation is quite different and thus a patent ensures that there are different levels of success all based on the ideologies. There being the legal aspects governing the intellectual property and the business involved with them, there is the enabling of secure operations and legal protection of the same. This means that intellectual property has fastened the security of many businesses because they have the ability to run their affairs without theft of ideas and the paranoia of the same. The ability to sue and be sued therefore makes the business world more stable and enables the government and those concerned to control the operations within a reasonable scale. The aims and the objectives of the TRIPS Agreements The TRIPS agreement (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) mainly works alongside the WTO as it is essential in the securing and strengthening the protection of Intellectual property in the international spectrum5. It has made huge steps in the establishment of standards in this field and all states have to conform to these standards. This is done by the mirroring of the provision in the agreements and modification of the national regulations to go hand in hand with what is required at a global level. The pharmaceutical industry is most profitable from the provisions in this agreement with the main issue being the obligation to provide patent protection of the processes and the inventions. Identify items that fall within the definition of Intellectual property given by the WIPO. WIPO which refers to, World intellectual Property Organisation refers to an intellectual property based organisation concerned with the raising of awareness on intellectual property, the roles, the advantages, problems and general understanding6. WIPO has time and time again held seminars, programs of cooperation, training and workshop’s all on intellectual property. These activities are conducted by many local and international experts on intellectual property and work hand in hand with numerous governments to follow through with the different responsibilities. Under this organization, all items that fall under the regulation of intellectual property are addressed, that is patents, copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications. Areas of intellectual property law and how they inter-relate to provide protection Intellectual property law covers all areas of the intangible assets in the market today. The protection starts from the small and large inventions, to the original prints and plays and the different identification marks in most companies today. Three mechanisms of this law however, have inter-related in a wider spectrum to provide a much more creative articulation. These are the copyrights, the patents and the trademarks. Firstly, the Copyrights refer to the regulations that protect the distinct expression of an idea from another. The people responsible for the creation have the opportunity to reproduce their work; they may commercialize the same or may create other similar derivation of the original work. The right to on this kind of protection promotes the economic ability and the ability to earn from the work prohibiting others from doing so. Since the expression of the idea in what is considered and not the idea, someone else may come up with a different expression of the same idea and seek copyright rights of ownership. The copyright therefore ensures the protection of the intellectual property in this sense. There is also the Patent right, which refers to the protection of inventions from sale or use by others without permission. (Miller 2010) These rights come in three ways; the utility patents, the designs patents and the rare plant patents. Investors must apply and get approval for the patenting of their inventions, if not the inventions will be under no patent right protection(Miller 2010). The process is time consuming but very efficient in ensuring the protection of the intellectual property in question. Lastly, there are the trademarks (Lalonde, 2007). They are the identification marks that tear apart products from others, as well as, the operation of one company from another. These trademarks are very important in the commercialization of products because, there are the distinct features that help identify the competitors in the business field (Lalonde, 2007).Unlike the patents, the trademarks take effect once a product, service or business commences using a particular mark and it does not require any filling of papers. Overall therefore, the three rights above intertwined provide the strongest foundation for actualizing of an ownership right that ensures viability in court on matters that involve intellectual property. There are strict laws in place to protect intellectual property rights. When intellectual property rights are violated, it is important to hire an intellectual property lawyer. An experienced attorney can help you sue for damages that include lost royalties. If your case is successful, the person who violated your intellectual property rights may be required to pay for all of your legal fees in addition to compensating you for using your work without your permission. The Madrid Protocol and the achievement in the trade mark world The Madrid protocol refers to one of two treaties concerning the international Registration of trademarks7. It provides a reasonably cost-effective opportunity for interested individuals to become trademark owners and ensures that the protection is viable in multiple countries through the filling of an application with a particular currency(Lalonde, 2007). This is to say, it provides a chance for a business or a company to obtain a number of trademark registrations that are in completely separate jurisdictions. The protocol does not however create an international registration of the trademarks instead; the single registration that covers many places gives a cheaper and more independent portfolio The international agreements and their effect on intellectual property Berne Convention The protection of Literary and Artistic works is one of the responsibilities of this convention in governing the copyright of this intellectual property8. It works with signatories that recognize the works of others but of the same nationals. For instance if something is created in France, the France copyright law will apply despite of where it came from9. Generally therefore, this convention creates a system that provides equal treatment that internationalizes copyright and stabilizes the copyright law standard. Patent Co-operation treaty The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) provides a procedure used in the filing of applications and protecting of investments in each signatory state(Miller 2010). The PCT application establishes a filing date in the states bound by the contract but followed up with steps of entering into phases of either international or regional towards more patents10. The contribution of the cooperation treaty to the intellectual has numerous advantages especially in solidifying the foundation of patents among other things. References Ang, S. (2014). The Moral Dimensions of Intellectual Property Rights. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Datamonitor (Firm). (2007). Aldi case study: Premiumizing grocery offerings in discount retail. London: Datamonitor. Deere, C. (2009). The implementation game: The TRIPS agreement and the global politics of intellectual property reform in developing countries. Oxford: New York. Heath, C., Kamperman, S. A., &Instituto de EstudosEuropeus de Macau. (2011).Landmark intellectual property cases and their legacy: IEEM international intellectual property conferences. Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands: Kluwer Law International. Lalonde, A. G., Green, K., & Gilson, J. (2007).Gilson on trademarks. Newark, NJ: LexisNexis, Matthew Bender. Lenk, C., Hoppe, N., &Andorno, R. (2007). Ethics and law of intellectual property: Current problems in politics, science, and technology. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate. Miller, J. S. (2010). Patents. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Rikowski, R. (2005). Globalisation, information and libraries: The implications of the World Trade Organisation's GATS and TRIPS Agreements. Oxford: Chandos Pub. World Intellectual Property Organization. (2004). Guide to the international registration of marks under the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol: (updated April 2004). Geneva: World Intellectual Property Organization Woolcock, S., & United Nations University. (2006). Trade and investment rule-making: The role of regional and bilateral agreements. Tokyo: United Nations University Press Read More