INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual property, creative works that have economic value and are protected by law. Intellectual property laws reward the creators of most types of intellectual property by preventing others from copying, performing, or distributing those works without permission. The main purpose of this protection is to provide incentives for people to produce scientific and creative works that benefit society at large. grant of rights from a government agency before they can be protected by law. Nearly all nations have laws protecting intellectual property. However, some nations do not vigorously enforce intellectual property laws, making illegal copying, or piracy, a major problem in these areas. Intellectual property was not always recognized as a single field of law. Historically, the fields of patent, copyright, and trademark developed independently. In the late 20th century, however, legal experts began to recognize that these various fields of law had a great deal in common because they all pertained to intangible products of the mind. Nevertheless, an attorney will often specialize in only one area of intellectual property, such as patent law, and the legal rules for the different branches of intellectual property law vary greatly. In all branches of intellectual property, the legal system seeks to balance two competing concerns. On the one hand, protection must be strong enough to encourage authors and inventors to invest the necessary effort in innovation. On the other hand, the law must also allow people some freedom to use the intellectual property of others. This is because artistic, technological, and commercial progress always requires building on the work of others. To strike this balance, all branches of intellectual property law confer general rights on creators but also limit those rights with a variety of exceptions. For example, in patent law, a scientist may use someone else’s invention to conduct experiments. Similarly, copyright law allows a literary critic to quote passages of a novel in a review. Under trademark law, a company may use a competitor’s brand name in a comparative advertisement. In all these ways, intellectual property law tries to be flexible enough to protect the property rights of the creator while also allowing the public to benefit from the protected work.
II. DEVELOPMENT Match the titles to each paragraph A) The definition of the intellectual property; B) A balance of different branches of intellectual property; C) History of the intellectual property laws. Fill in the table with the words from text
Speak on types of intellectual property laws and their functions. Translate the text into Ukrainian. Write a list of measures that a legislator should take to protect intellectual property in the Internet.
In the last years of the 20th century, the growth of the Internet and related digital technologies began to pose new problems for intellectual property owners. Unauthorized parties began using trademarks such as domain names for Web sites, which made it difficult for consumers to find the trademark owner’s official Web site. Copyright owners found that their works, particularly music and movies, could be perfectly duplicated by parties using file-sharing software. New devices were sold that made it possible to defeat copy-control features, such as those designed to prevent duplication of digital video discs (DVDs). The U.S. government attempted to respond to these developments by adopting several complex new laws protecting intellectual property. These laws became controversial. On the one hand, intellectual property owners claimed that the laws failed to provide full protection against unauthorized use of their property. On the other hand, various consumer groups argued that the laws interfered with the public’s rights to engage in free speech and may also invade privacy.
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