The World Intellectual Property Organization.

WIPO stands as an abbreviation of ‘The World Intellectual Property Organization, is an especially dedicated agency of the United Nations. It is dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which while safeguarding the public interest also rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to the economic development. WIPO was established in 1967 by the WIPO Convention. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

In the year 1886, copyright entered the international arena with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works to help nationals of its member States obtain international protection of their right to control, and receive payment for, the use of their creative works such as novels, short stories, poems, plays; songs, operas, musicals, sonatas; and drawings, paintings, sculptures, architectural works. Like the Paris Convention, the Berne Convention set up an International Bureau to carry out administrative tasks. In 1893, these two small bureaux united to form an international organization called the United International Bureau (BIRPI) for the Protection of Intellectual Property. The BIRPI indeed was the predecessor of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

With the growing importance of intellectual property, the structure and form of the Organization also changed. In 1960 BIRPI moved from Berne to Geneva to be closer to the United Nations and other international organizations in that city. A decade later, following the entry into force of the Convention.

Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, BIRPI became WIPO and in the year 1974, WIPO became a specialized agency of the United Nations system of organizations, with a mandate to administer intellectual property matters recognized by the member States of the UN.

CoinproBiz Solutions has been established to provide exclusive services in the field of Company Registration, Intellectual Property Rights, Trademark registration, Copyright Registration and allied services, with the help of specialized and experienced professionals from varied backgrounds such as Company Secretaries, Chartered Accountants, Corporate Lawyers and Business Professionals. 

Myths about using copyrighted material.

Understanding copyright law can be confusing for business owners, but the costs of infringing on another's copyright can be very high. Here are the biggest myths about making using copyrighted material.

1. Using a part of the song or text.

This is just false. There is no safe percentage or amount that can be used without obtaining permission from the copyright owner. If the content is copyrighted then the copyright owner can sue the user for even the smallest amount of use. If you are thinking that you can use a small amount of famous songs in your brand’s commercials, you are wrong and can get in serious trouble.

2. Copyrighting Idea.

Copyright protects "original works of authorship" in a tangible medium of expression. In other words, original books, musical compositions, movies and computer software are capable of copyright protection. So, unfortunately, ideas are not copyright-able.

3. Non-commercial usedoesn’t infringe copyright law.

There are a few exceptions that allow the use of a copyrighted material for educational purposes and parody. The fact that you are not making money is only one parameter, for example. If you are going to download a copyrighted book and publish it on the internet for free, then even though you are not going to make money out of it, it’s considered a copyright infringement as it damages the original work and owner.

4. If it doesn’t belong to a celebrity, it’s free from copyright constraints.

Wrong. All individuals have the right of publicity, or the right to control their name, voice, image, and likeness, regardless of whether or not they're a public figure. Each state has its own laws governing right of publicity, but most states provide statutory damages for violating an individual's right of publicity for commercial use. Make sure to have a release for anyone in the photo, as well as permission from the photographer (if you didn’t take the photo yourself.)

CoinproBiz Solutions has been established to provide exclusive services in the field of Company Registration, IntellectualProperty Rights, Trademark registration, Copyright Registration and allied services, with the help of specialized and experienced professionals from varied backgrounds such as Company Secretaries, Chartered Accountants, Corporate Lawyers and Business Professionals

Finding the proof points for your brand.

What makes a company unique? What makes a brand stand apart from the others? In discussing brand positioning, flesh out a product's or service's attributes -- the features or functions that make it all work.

Some marketers like to call this the USP or unique selling proposition. Other marketing gurus refer to it as the reason to believe or RTB. But to put it in simple words, this is the proof needed to substantiate the claims made for a company or brand.

Let’s take an example, you may have a claim that no other brands can make something as the fact that your product helps lower cholesterol 10 percent. Maybe your product's brand has been the subject of more clinical studies or maybe it has been on the market for a longer period than others. A proof point can also be related to a unique ingredient or methodology like “¼ moisturizing cream” from Dove.

Whatever it is that you want your brand to be identified for make sure that you own it. In any category, products tend to have very similar functional features and benefits. Which makes it extremely hard to position and differentiate a product on facts alone. This is why an effective positioning statement should appeal to the emotional side as well.

Be creative while making a proof point. That's what the whole positioning exercise is about. Don’t just say your product is made from all-natural ingredients, or all Indian raw material. That’s not going to help you in positioning or differentiating the brand in any manner. Rather you should explain the process by which you search and curate the product's natural -ingredients and how you've uniquely blended them together. Now you're on your way to make your brand stand apart from all the other brands in its category.

And it's not enough to say that you have studies to back your claims. Elaboration on how the studies were uniquely conducted to shed light on the product's proprietary formula is required to make it work more effectively. Stay factual and accurate to what’s true and ethical. But at the same time highlight the features that make your product unique and that only you can claim.

CoinproBiz Solutions has been established to provide exclusive services in the field of Company Registration, Intellectual Property Rights, Trademarkregistration, Copyright Registration and allied services, with the help of specialized and experienced professionals from varied backgrounds such as Company Secretaries, Chartered Accountants, Corporate Lawyers and Business Professionals. 

What to do when someone uses your trademark.

You have worked hard and brainstormed day and night to come up with the design and logo for your brand, so what can you do to prevent other companies from using it? What can you do to make sure that no one infringes your Intellectual property rights?

Well, it’s not exactly simple and trademark laws can confuse even the savviest business owners. The trademark act of 1999 lays out the foundation of trademark act. A trademark is a special symbol for distinguishing the goods offered for sale or otherwise put on the market by one trader from those of another. In India, the trademarks have been protected for over four decades as per the provisions of the Trade and Merchandise Mark (TMM) Act of 1958. India became a party to the WTO at its very inception. One of the agreements in that related to the Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In December 1998 India acceded to the Paris Convention.

That’s what the act states, now let’s get back to the question, what to do when someone uses your trademark? 

·         Make sure if there actually is a trademark infringement.

Before diving into a lawsuit, you need to make sure if a problem actually exists. To do that, let’s review a few trademark facts,

First, trademark infringement occurs only when consumers are likely to be confused by the dual use of the trademark and whether the mark is being used on competing for goods and services.

The next factor to consider is the location. If you operate a flower shop in Delhi and someone opens a similarly named flower shop in Dehradun. This likely isn’t considered infringement because customers are highly unlikely to confuse both. Granted, if your business becomes famous across the country, you may have a greater chance of claiming infringement regardless of location. 

Another often-confused aspect of trademark law is that names can infringe on one another even if they aren’t identical. Courts often consider “sight, sound and meaning” when determining if two marks are similar. So adding an "s" to make a name plural isn’t enough to distinguish it. Or try to name your fast food restaurant “McDowell’s,” and you’ll quickly see that marks don’t need to be identical to cause infringement. 

·        Take action.

If you believe that the other name is a) being used on competing goods and services b) customers would likely be confused by the two names and c) the other name is being used in your same geographic region, then you should take action.

The first step is to contact an attorney specializing in trademark law. He or she will help you through the next steps.

Trademark issues typically begin by sending a cease-and-desist letter to the infringing business and demanding that they stop using your mark. If the alleged infringer continues to use your trademark after receiving your letter, possible remedies include preventing further use of the mark in addition to money damages. You can ask the court to have the infringer pay you any money they made as a result of the infringement as well as any damages that your business may have suffered as a result of the infringement.

·         But the most important thing is to file a trademark beforehand.

Too often, small-business owners don’t think about trademarks until it is too late, and they see someone else using their company or product name. At that point, it becomes a fight over who owns the name and who was using it first. Therefore, put yourself in the best possible position by applying for your trademark early on. This is why the most important step in trademark protection is applying for your trademark as soon as possible.

CoinproBiz Solutions has been established to provide exclusive services in the field of Company Registration, Intellectual Property Rights, Trademarkregistration, Copyright Registration and allied services, with the help of specialized and experienced professionals from varied backgrounds such as Company Secretaries, Chartered Accountants, Corporate Lawyers and Business Professionals.