Text 2 Legal aspects of marketing    

The World Intellectual Property Organization gives the following definitions: Intellectual propertyrefers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce. Intellectual property is divided into two categories:

1 Industrial propertyincludes patents,which give the exclusive rightto make, use and sell an invention in a given geographical area; trademarks(words or symbols that differentiate a company); and industrial designs. A granted patent gives patent protectionfor 20 years in the UK. After that time you must renew the patent.In order to trademark, or register your trademark,you will need to complete a registration process.

2 Copyright protectsliterary and artistic works. Copyright protected work includes novels, plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, photographs, and architectural designs. Copyright protected work is said to be subject to copyright.

Note:The copyright symbol: © The trademark symbol: ™

The registered trademark symbol: ®

Legal problems may arise if another person has used copyright protected work without the copyright owner's (or holder's)permission. The UK Patent Office says:'Intellectual property (IP) crimesinclude counterfeitingand piracy.Counterfeiting is deliberate or wilful trademark infringement and piracy is wilful copyright infringement.Infringement means reproducing copyrighted work without permission from the IP owner.'

If a trademark or copyright holder believes that another person has made unauthorized use of a trademark or copyright, then this may lead to a lawsuit, where one company takes another to court to enforce the trademark or copyright. The infringer,the person who has broken the copyright, may have to pay damagesor compensationto the trademark holder, normally financial.

Most company websites include a page called terms and conditions or copyright information. Visitors to the site must agree to the terms andconditions. The terms and conditions usually contain what a visitor may download or take from the web page and post or upload to the web page, and a disclaimerto say the company is not legally responsible for the misuse of its web pages.

The Consumer Protection Actis a law in the UK that protects the consumer from faulty or defective products, or products that are not as safe as they are generally expected to be. Consumers are legally entitled to goods of a satisfactory quality. Producers, suppliers and importers are liable for - that is, responsible for - the products they sell. Death, personal injury - involving physical damage to a person - and damage to private property are covered under the act.

Enforcementof the act - that is, making sure the act is respected - is the job of the trading standards officer. Businesses need to monitor and control their produce to make sure they are fulfilling, or carrying out, all safety regulations.

A central part of the law is product liability,which means that any person who is injured or physically hurt by a defective product does not have to prove a manufacturer negligent - that is, at fault - before suing, or taking the manufacturer to court.

4.5Complete the copyright information from the WWF-UK web page.

 http://www.wwf.org.net        The Panda symbol                                      The WWF panda symbol is a (1) ….. trademark and is subject to

(2) …. .      It must not be used or reproduced without (3)….. .  

4.6 Make sentences using one part from each column.

4.7 Complete the newspaper report and then match the problems (a-c) with the offered solutions (1 - 3).