| Popis: |
When employed by a company, in almost all the cases a new employee has to sign an agreement giving the company exclusive rights to any intellectual property developed as part of their work assignments. This agreement could extend beyond a change of jobs and cause conflict of interests in new employment situations. A patent is a government-granted monopoly given to an inventor as both a reward for the intellectual and financial investment, and a stimulus to innovate. As a monopoly, the patent has legal power to exclude others from exploiting the invention in any way for a period of 20 years from the time the patent application has been filed. A trademark provides instant recognition of a product or company; a service mark provides instant recognition of a service. They both have unlimited lifetime. But the owner must renew or confirm continuous use at the end of five years, and every 10 years thereafter. A trade secret is information keep secret by the owner to give him advantage over competitors. Since it is secret, a trade secret protection has unlimited lifetime. |
