What is IP Infringement

What is IP Infringement

IP infringement means the violation of intellectual property right.

To understand the concept of IP infringement it is  necessary to understand what exactly  Intellectual Property Rights relate to.  A person can approach court via a lawsuit if his creation or idea is stolen and utilised without his knowledge or permission. It can be either a Civil or Criminal offence based on the act committed.

There are several types of intellectual property rights, such as Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks.  Therefore, an intellectual property infringement may for instance be the violation of any of the above.

Copyright Infringement:  In common terms  ‘Piracy’ is the most common example of IP infringement. If an individual's work, protected under Copyright Law, is used without permission revoking the exclusive rights granted and is used to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work it can be termed as Copyright Infringement.

Patent infringement - When an act is committed with respect to a patented invention, without the permission of the patent holder, it is known as Patent infringement.  Unless the permission is issued in the form of a licence no one has the right to use it. The rules varies from areas to areas based on the product.

Trademark infringement-  The violation of the owner's Trademark without the individual’s authorisation or any license causes trademark infringement. Infringement occurs when a party uses a trademark which is identical or similar to a trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services which the registration covers.

Design infringement: A registered design holder has an exclusive right for 25 years on his design to make, offer, put on the market, import or export the design, or stock the product. Any third party who uses it without the authority or permission for his own personal gain is undertaking a Design Infringement