Protecting designs and intellectual property.

This topic is for A-level only. If you are studying at AS-level you do not need to cover the content in this chapter.

• Intellectual property (IP) is an idea that is turned into a physical creation that did not already exist (for example, a book, film, camera lens mounting system, handbag design or car name badge).
• Ideas alone do not count as IP – physical format of some kind is compulsory.
• Uniqueness is essential when seeking to protect IP with intellectual property rights (IPR).
• Some rights are automatically endowed when work is created (e.g. copyright); others have to be applied for (e.g. patent).
• IP laws vary from country to country and there are various rules governing applications.

• Copyright is legal protection for work such as books, photos, drama, music, films, TV programmes, software, etc.
• It allows management of permission for others to use work (e.g. licensing photos for use in books).
• The UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 provides cover for most works for 70 years after the death of the creator.
• Unregistered design rights provide legal protection for designers to stop unauthorised copying for ten years. They cover appearance (shape, ornamentation, etc.), not how products work.
• Registration is not required, but ownership is hard to prove in a dispute.
• Using the copyright symbol (©), and metadata and watermarks on digital files, makes it easier to assert ownership.
• It is a good idea to keep early drafts, sketches, recordings, etc., as well as deliberate, unique modifications as evidence.
• The UK Copyright Service provides an independent evidence of authorship facility.

• The government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) grants legal rights (patents) for novel inventions.
• Patents apply only to working parts of a design (e.g. a car suspension system, electronic product PCB, automatic kettle sensor).
• They provide up to 20 years’ legal protection, but are expensive and complicated to obtain.
• It is essential that the invention is completely new or significantly improves an existing design.
• Detailed, labelled diagrams and clear description are central to submissions.
• A patent attorney is often employed to check a patent prior to submission.
• Legal conflict examples include Apple vs Samsung (software features) and Dyson vs Hoover (dual cyclone).
• It can be argued that publication of a patent encourages further innovation.

Figure 24.2 Patent drawings for the 1904 Gillette razor

• Registered designs offer legal protection for product appearance and decoration, not working parts.
• Designs are registered for up to 25 years by submitting illustrations and a fee to the IPO.
• Trade in fake designer label products is an ongoing problem despite legal penalties.

Figure 24.3 The ® symbol used on a label for a toy

• Trademarks give legal protection for brand identity and facilitate marketing. A recognisable combination of words, sounds, colours and logos is important for companies.
• A logo is a graphical symbol; it needs to be instantly identifiable and unique in order to stand out.
• A trademark may incorporate graphics, but can be a word or phrase such as ‘dual cyclone’.
• Trademarks are registered by making an application and paying a fee to the IPO.
• Trademarks need to be renewed every ten years.
• The ® symbol is used to warn others that it is a protected trademark.

• Open design is a communal, altruistic approach to design that is intended to realise products and systems for the common good of society, rather than for financial reward.
• It rejects use of IPR, and encourages collaboration and sharing.
• Many initiatives are internet based and involve free open source software (FOSS).
• 3D printing is an example of sharing facilitated by universal file formats (e.g. DXF and STL). RepRap Prusa i3 is a 3D printer that can be made from freely available 3D parts files.
• A creative commons licence (a public copyright licence that enables free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work) is used to maintain an originator’s rights, but allow development.

• Practical Action – an organisation promoting ‘technology justice’ to challenge poverty in developing countries, by producing freely copiable designs for life-improving projects such as water pumping and purification systems, ploughs and aerial ropeways (Figure 24.5).
• Fairphone – an example of an open source software-based, modular, easily upgraded and repaired mobile phone challenging the current trend to discard mobile phones every couple of years.
• 1950s shipping container patents were leased to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) free of royalties, facilitating current worldwide freight transport.