There are basically two ways or systems to obtain the right to a Trade Mark. These depend on the legal system of the country where the right is obtained. There are countries where the actual use of a Trade Mark in commerce creates the right to that mark. The fact that a company at a certain point in time starts to use a certain Trade Mark on products, on product packagings etc. is sufficient for them to be able to claim a right to that Trade Mark.

The majority of countries have legal systems requiring that a Trade Mark is registered in a specific trademark register. Or that at least an application for registration of the trademark is filed with the authorities that maintain the Trade Marks register. These Trade Mark registers are open for inspection by the public. They allow third parties to check if a certain mark is registered or filed for and what the exact status of the application or registration is. This is essential information for companies that want to introduce a new product under a new Trade Mark. Before the launch (and final selection) of such a Trade Mark research has to be done to verify whether the new Trade Mark infringes upon the (Trade Mark) rights of third parties.

A Patent is a legal right, which in return for full disclosure of an invention, grants the holder of the Patent exclusivity in relation to the invention for a limited duration. The maximum duration is generally 20 years and after expiration of this period, the invention falls into the public domain. The Patent is designed to encourage innovation.

An Application for a Patent must be made to the Patents Office accompanied by a Patent Specification. A Patent Specification must contain a description of the invention, one or more claims, and any drawings which are referred to in the description to illustrate the invention. The Patents Office grants a Patent for an invention, which it finds is an advance on the state of the art (novel) and is not an obvious development.

Under a Treaty known as the Paris Convention, an Applicant can within 12 months, seek Patent protection in another member country and claim priority back to the date on which the first application was filed.

A copyright is the legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, or artist to exclusive publication, reproduction, sale, distribution, or performance of an independently created literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work.

Copyright gives the creators of certain kinds of material the right to control the ways their material can be used. These rights begin as soon as the material is recorded in a tangible medium of expression. The owner of a copyright in particular material may prevent others from doing any of the following

• copying;

• adapting or creating derivative works;

• distributing;

• communicating to the public by electronic transmission;

• renting or lending copies to the public; and,

• performing in public