Intellectual Property Rights Trademarks

“Imagination is more important than knowledge”

Albert Einstein, Scientist (1879-1955)

Albert Einstein’s preference for imagination over knowledge is a starting point because intellectual property is based on the power of imagination.

The history of the human race is a history of the application of imagination, or innovation and creativity, to an existing base of knowledge in order to solve problems. From early writing in Mesopotamia, the Chinese abacus, the Syrian astrolabe, the ancient observatories of India, the Gutenberg printing press, the internal combustion engine, penicillin, plant medicines and cures in Southern Africa, the transistor, semiconductor nanotechnology, recombinant DNA drugs, and countless other discoveries and innovations, it has been the imagination of the world’s creators that has enabled humanity to advance to today’s levels of technological progress.

Imagination feeds progress in the arts as well as science. Music, painting, sculpture, architecture, novels and other works of art, are created by individuals who are not content with the old, and instead see and express ideas and emotions in new ways.

Intellectual property (IP) is the term that describes the ideas, inventions, technologies, artworks, music and literature, that are intangible when first created, but become valuable in tangible form as products.

IP is the commercial application of imaginative thought to solving a technical or artistic challenge. It is not the product itself, but the special idea behind it, the way the idea is expressed, and the distinctive way it is named and described.

The word “property” is used to describe this value, because the term applies only to inventions, works and names for which a person or group of persons claims ownership. Ownership is important because experience has shown that potential economic gain provides a powerful incentive to innovate.

TRADEMARKS

Trademarks and their related legal concepts are powerful tools for IP empowerment. Uniquely among all other forms of intellectual property (except the most closely guarded of trade secrets), a mark properly maintained and used endows its owner with exclusive rights forever. Trademarks, therefore, are an important element of wealth creation strategies for enterprises

The Origin of Trademarks

Marks have been used to identify the source of goods for a long time. There is evidence that, as far back as 4,000 years ago, craftsmen from China, India, and Persia used either their signatures or symbols to identify their products. Roman pottery-makers used more than 100 different marks to distinguish their work, the most famous being the Fortis mark, which was imitated by many on counterfeit goods. These craftsmen are believed to have used marks for several purposes, including as an advertisement for the makers of the products, as proof that the products belonged to a particular merchant in the event of an ownership dispute, and as a guarantee of quality .