NAME.
MUGISHA NAYEBARE KEVIN
REG.NO. 119-053011-15840
QUESTION.
What are the challenges faced by intellectual property rights
protection?
Intellectual property is a category of intangible rights protecting
commercially valuable products of the human intellect.
Additionally, intellectual property law deals with the law to protect and
enforce rights of the creators and owners of invention, writing, music,
designs and other works known intellectual property.
Furthermore, intellectual property law comprises a set of exclusive rights
to exclude others from making, copying, exploiting or using certain
intangible creations of the human rights. It also involves protection of
ideas using the law.
These challenges are grouped into two that is domestic and international
challenges and they include the following.
1.Registry issues, backlogs and delays
Within six months or less of filing an application, an invention is typically
assigned to an examining attorney. Any material update, such as an office
action or a notice of publication, is typically received after approximately 7
months. Applicants in developed nations, like the United States, can file
oppositions within 30 days of the publication date, which is specified in
the notice of publication.
As a result of these setbacks, the company may not be able to
immediately expand into more lucrative markets, especially given that its
products are not yet well -known outside of its vicinity.
2.Lack of experts in copyright claims drafting for eligible works.
Among the many steps involved in applying for a copyright, the most
important is probably the drafting of the actual application itself. Legal
protection for an invention includes the ability to prevent others from
making use of it, but only if the copyright claims are written correctly.
Copyright claims need to encompass as much of innovative processes as
possible while they are still in their infancy. Additionally, the scope of the
invention shifts as more experiments are carried out necessitating
multiple revisions of the copyright claims.
3.Cost of protection
Copyright and industrial design protection costs are typically proportional
to the maturity of a country’s copyright and identification (ID). This takes
advantage of the IP funds made available in many countries for business
in the most effective way to deal with the cost of IP protection.
For instance, in January 2022, the European Commission unveiled the EU
SME Fund, which contains roughly 47 million euros and is aimed at
safeguarding the intellectually property of EU SMES during their COVID-19
recovery and digital transitions. Businesses can save up to 60% on IP
protection.
4. Lack of awareness.
When it comes to problems like this, African countries have it worse. The
information shows that in Africa, over half of the small and medium -sized
enterprises (SMEs) have never heard of intellectual property. The reason
for is not far- fetched. Despite the fact that businesses are among the
most directly impacted by intellectual property rights, little to no effort is
made to raise awareness of these rights in the business world.
Business misses out on opportunities to increase profits, broaden their
reach, and spread their risks by not understanding the value of intellectual
property.
5.Intellectual property law suits
Typically, the price tag for copyright litigation process is between $2.3 and
$4 million. Depending on the complexity of the case, copyright litigation
can take anywhere from one to three years to reach trial.
In addition to the time and money involved, having your IP legally
challenged can be disastrous for your company’s reputation
6. Portfolio management
Its safe to say that a company’s copyright portfolio is its single most
valuable asset. A company’s intellectual property (IP) Portfolio would
consist of all of the company’s IP assets, including copyright, trade secrets
and industrial designs.
Portfolio managers are required to monitor the expiration dates of
applications and renew them as necessary, maintain constant
communication with clients and the copyright office, and perform
docketing and budgeting.
If a deadline is missed, the IP owner risks losing theirs to the property.
Effective IP portfolio management can affect customer satisfaction, reveal
untapped market opportunities and mitigate risk
7. Piracy
Every year, piracy costs the music industry a whopping $2.7 billion in
revenue. The future looks grim for these numbers, experts say. Piracy
impacts creators, companies and employees alike. In the United States
alone, the annual loss of revenue from piracy is equivalent to nearly
70,000 jobs.
Companies are seeing a decline in their brand awareness and customer
confidence as a result of this. A good case in point is the well-known board
game manufacturer CATAN, which has seen an uptick in complaints from
dissatisfied customers ever since the market was flooded with online
counterfeits.
In an effort to combat online piracy, many businesses are turning to anti-
piracy programs.
Experts in intellectual property (IP) who can keep an eye on the market for
signs of infringement are employed to combat more conventional forms of
piracy.
8.Protecting business concepts and invention stages.
A company’s underlying concept is the idea that drives its success. A
business plan, in its simplest form, is a well -thought -out framework
outlining the essential elements needed to launch and sustain a
successful enterprise, such as the company’s offerings, its products or
services, the reasons why the concept is novel and the means by which
the products or services will be delivered to the intended market.
Business ideas are the equivalent of various phases of the invention. Until
an invention is finished and in a fixed form, it is not protected by
intellectual property law. The implication of this is that should these ideas
be stolen; a prospective business loses out completely. This is one of the
commonest cases if IP challenges
9.outdated intellectual property laws
The trend of commercialising the internet business has reduced the
importance of personal contact. Plant variety protection and other
technological develops are being accounted for in modern intellectual
property law.
Plant variety protection rules are in place to safeguard the farmers legal
rights and unique plant varieties, while also providing exemptions for the
private use of protected genetic material .
Intellectual property benefits for business are constrained by the absence
of IP laws that take into account the development of technology in the
digital space and Plant Variety Protection
10. Intellectual property documentation.
The term intellectual property documentation is used to describe
comprehensive IP agreements that safeguard a company in every way.
Inexperienced intellectual property attorneys hired by companies to
resolve intellectual property issues often struggle t; properly document
their work . however any shortcoming on the part of the attorney
inevitably impacts the company.
Typically, intellectual property agreements should include non disclosure
clauses, representations and warranties, employee-related issues and
indemnifications, as well as anticipate future challenges that are likely to
arise.
In conclusion, the challenges affecting intellectual property are both
international and domestic as discussed above and they hinder the
development and the protection of the intellectual property rights.
REFERNCES.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW IN EAST AFRICA BY DAVID J.
BAKIBINGA
THE COPYRIGHT AND NEIGHBOURING RIGHTS ACT CHAPTER 222
https//abounaja.com
