Design

A design is the form, arrangement or look of a finished article. Industrial or commercial manufacturing designs and applications are protected by the Designs Act 1906. Protection is for the appearance of an article or product, not for how it works. Designs are registered for 12 months, with extension periods of several years available.

Patent

A patent is a right granted for any device, substance, method or process that is new, inventive and useful.

A patent is legally enforceable and gives the owner the exclusive right, in Australia, to commercially exploit the invention for the time period of the patent. A patent is a monopoly right.

When you want to protect an invention or device, you can pay to ensure that you have the exclusive right to use that invention or device. In exchange, you allow a full description of how your invention works to become public, so it can be used as the basis for further research. You can maintain a patent for up to 20 years, and if it is not renewed at that time, the right to use the device becomes available for someone else to purchase.

Patent information has been obtained from the CSIRO Minerals Library site at: http://www.minerals.csiro.au/library/patents.htm

Practice

Match the following terms to the correct definitions. 1 Intellectual property  a) A name, symbol, figure, letter, word or mark used to distinguish goods 2 Trademark  b) The product of your mind 3 Design c) A monopoly right to commercially exploit an invention 4 Patent d) The appearance or look of a finished industrial or manufactured article Answer

More information about intellectual property can be obtained from: www.ipaustralia.gov.au