Soft intellectual property
Encyclopedia
Soft intellectual property is sometimes used to refer to trademark
s, copyright
, design rights and passing off
, in contrast to "hard intellectual property", which is sometimes used to refer to patents.
The phrase "soft intellectual property" or Soft IP also refers to a system for licensing patents proposed in 2008. See Soft IP
.
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
s, copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
, design rights and passing off
Passing off
Passing off is a common law tort which can be used to enforce unregistered trademark rights. The tort of passing off protects the goodwill of a trader from a misrepresentation that causes damage to goodwill....
, in contrast to "hard intellectual property", which is sometimes used to refer to patents.
The phrase "soft intellectual property" or Soft IP also refers to a system for licensing patents proposed in 2008. See Soft IP
Soft ip
Soft IP or soft intellectual property is a proposed system that would enable to capture and protection of IP, with provision for making licenses available to all interested parties. This is particularly applicable to patents....
.