Intellectual Property Rights/ legal issues

Trademark

Used by businesses to protect brandsonly need renewing ever ten years Identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others. Lasts 70 years after death. 


Patents 

• licenses provided by the government 
• valid for 20 years 
• If your project is has a patent it means no one but you can make, use, offer or sell your invention 

Freedom of informations act

• Provides public access to information held by public authorities. Members of the public are entitled to request information from public authorities. The government believed this act would create more mutual trust towards to government. However some believe this act creates more anger and blame towards the government as they are being 'exposed' for their wrong doings e.g. spending $2,500 on a child killer's funeral.

Data protection act

• UK data protection law
• all businesses must conform to 8 main principles/ laws
• Each week there are 4000 pieces of info about individuals gathered per week
• requires info to be processes securely 
• The 8 principles: requires the data subjects consent, should only be kept for the reason it was collected, should be kept accurate, should be kept up to date, should only be kept as long as it is needed, should always be available to the data subject, should be processed within the UK, should be processed securely.
• ethically + morally as well as the law

 Copyright, designs and patents act 1988

• we have access to social media, music, films, streaming, books, images, games
• we are our own creators, writing books, songs, films, taking pictures, making games.
• due to all the access and exposure to this media it must be used legally. e.g. free downloads, file shares, open source, ebooks.
• Sharing and using media legally are governed by copyright laws.

Libel

• a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation
• the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.

Copyright

A legal right that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution. 

Design rights 

• Automatically protects your design for 10 years after it was first sold or 15 years after it was created.
• Used to stop people copying your design.
• a licence confirming the right to a title. Excludes others from making, selling and using a particular invention. 
• Lasts ten years.

Slander

• making a verbal statement that is damaging to a persons rights