Intellectual Property is an idea or innovation that is created or discovered. This includes things that you write, design, invent, software, trade secrets, sing, speak, draw, learn, etc... Intellectual property can be created by you or you can pay someone to create it for you. Intellectual property is protected by trade secrets, patents, trademarks and copyright laws. Each of these laws covers a specific type of intellectual property.
There are two types of patents; design and utility. Patents are used to protect inventions or designs for inventions. Patents last for 20 years and the application for a patent must past certain tests in order to be issued. An example of a utility patent would be a patent for a light bulb. A design patent would be used to protect a style or type of a light bulb. Patents are protected and monitored under the United States Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office.
Trademarks are used to protect intellectual property such as brand names, logos, etc... Trademarks do not need to be applied for. There are 3 conditions for using a trademark: no one else can be using it, trademark is not a descriptive phrase commonly used and finally that you use it. (printing TM beside your intellectual property is sufficient.) Trademarks do not expire unless you stop using it.
Anything that is written can be copyrighted. It needs to be stated that you reserve the copyright to the material. (Ex. Copyright 1999 by Suzi Strange, All Rights Reserved) Other intellectual property that can be copyrighted are; songs, photographs, drawings, articles, artworks, lists, charts, etc... Copyrights are not monitored or recorded like patents.
This intellectual property involves keeping secret a certain formula, recipe, design, etc... The secret can be kept by persons signing papers agreeing to keep the secret or by admitting that this is a trade secret. An example would be the recipe for a food product.
Although intellectual property includes the above four categories, not all of these pertain directly to technology and education. Therefore, this white paper will focus on the issues of copyright and its involvement with education.
Sources: (Adapted from)
Intellectual Property: A Brief Tour of the Issue, [http://mothra.tamu.edu/people/scooter/EFFIP.HTM] (February, 1999)
Weinstein, Lee, "A Short Course on Proprietary Intellectual Property", [http://www.pimall.com/nais/n.intelpro.htm], (February 1999)
The subject matter of copyright is usually described as "literary and artistic works," that is, original creations in the fields of literature and arts. The form in which such works are expressed may be words, symbols, music, pictures, three-dimensional objects, or combinations thereof (as in the case of an opera or a motion picture). Practically all national copyright laws provide for the protection of the following types of works:
literary works: novels, short stories, poems, dramatic works and any other writings, irrespective of their content (fiction or nonfiction), length, purpose (amusement, education, information, advertisement, propaganda, etc.), form (handwritten, typed, printed; book, pamphlet, single sheets, newspaper, magazine); whether published or unpublished; in most countries computer programs and "oral works," that is, works not reduced to writing, are also protected by the copyright law;
musical works: whether serious or light; songs, choruses, operas, musicals, operettas; if for instruments, whether for one instrument (solos), a few instruments (sonatas, chamber music, etc.) or many (bands, orchestras)
choreographic works;
artistic works: whether two-dimensional (drawings, paintings, etchings, lithographs, etc.) or three-dimensional (sculptures, architectural works), irrespective of their content (representational or abstract) and destination ("pure" art, for advertisement, etc.);
maps and technical drawings;
photographic works: irrespective of the subject matter (portraits, landscapes, current events, etc.) and the purpose for which made;
audiovisual works (formerly mainly called "motion pictures" or "cinematographic works"): even where silent, and irrespective of their purpose (theatrical exhibition, television broadcasting, etc.), their genre (film dramas, documentaries, newsreels, etc.), length, method employed (filming "live", cartoons, etc.), or technical process used (pictures on transparent film, on electronic videotapes, etc.).
Some copyright laws also provide for the protection of derivative works (translations, adaptations) and collections (compilations) of works and mere data (data bases), collections where they, by reason of the selection and arrangement of the contents, constitute intellectual creations.
Many copyright laws also contain provisions for the protection of "works of applied art" (artistic jewelry, lamps, wallpaper, furniture, etc.).
Some copyright laws provide that computer programs are to be protected as literary works.
In certain countries, mainly in countries with common law legal traditions, the notion "copyright" has a wider meaning than "author's rights" and, in addition to literary and artistic works, also extends to the producers of sound recordings (phonograms, whether disks or tapes), to the broadcasters of broadcasts and the creators of distinctive typographical arrangements of publications.
In regards to the number of literary and artistic works created worldwide, it is difficult to make a precise estimate. However, the information available indicates that at present around 1,000,000 books/titles are published and some 5,000 feature films are produced in a year, and the number of copies of phonograms sold per year presently is more than 3,000 million.
Source: International Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights, [http://www.wipo.org.eng/general/copyright/intro.htm] (March 1999)
Plagiarism is taking ideas or writings from another person and offering them as original ideas. Plagiarism has always been considered inappropriate, but the Internet makes it very easy to cut and paste ideas and writings of other people into documents.
As every student and teacher knows, researching information and incorporating the ideas and writings of others into their work is a highly appropriate activity. This is how society has built its base of knowledge. But it is important that students learn to give credit where credit is due and not try to pass off anyone else's work as their own. When students use the work of others, it is also important that they stay within the bounds of the "fair use doctrine" of copyright law.
There are some practical problems when it comes to avoiding plagiarism while doing research on the Internet. When people are engaged in Web "surfing" it is very easy to become focused on the ideas and forget to note the sources of those ideas. Backtracking to the source can be difficult. It is important that teachers help students to understand this difficulty and assist them in developing an efficient approach to keep track of and properly cite their sources.
Source:
Willard, Nancy,"A Legal and Educational Analysis of K-12 Internet Acceptable Use Policies", [http://www.erehwon.com/k12aup/legal_analysis.html], (February, 1999)