Re: An IP gripe

On Thu, Aug 12, 1999, Carol Cricow <carol[_at_]yujean.com> wrote:
>
> Am I the only one who resents the term "Intellectual Property" being
> used only for patents? I just got a flyer in the mail advertising a
> CLE called "International Judge Conference on Intellectual Property
> Law." A quick glance at the schedule told me that this is a
> conference on patent law.
>
> Earlier this year, I was asked to be on a career panel at the
> University of Oregon law School representing "soft" intellectual
> property -- by which they meant "not patents" which, apparently,
> goes as "hard" intellectual property.
>
> I resent that. Many of the most important, cutting edge issues in
> IP law are in the areas of copyright and trademarks -- esp. with
> Internet issues such as copyright infringement by posting on a web
> site and domain names as trademark.
>
> The kind of IP law I practice, that is copyrights, trademarks and
> licensing, is IP. Period. Not "hard"; not "soft" -- just intellectual
> property.
>
> Sorry for the slight diatribe but it really pisses me off.

I second Carol's complaint. For too many years now, "IP" has been considered a synonym for "Patent", and when I introduce myself as an i.p. lawyer people immediately assume I am a patent attorney, which I am not.

Whenever I get the opportunity, in CLEs or classes or client briefings, I identify six kinds of intellectual property: patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain names, trade secrets, and rights of publicity. I think each of these six things is legitimately considered a separate form of i.p., because the applicable law, the standards for protection, and the relevant licensing policies vary greatly from one to the next. I continue to regard trade dress as a subset of trademark, but if the law keeps diverging in that area, there may be an argument for identifying trade dress as a seventh separate form of i.p.

I'd be interested in thoughts on this approach, and on anything we can do to educate the public as to the full range of the rubric "intellectual property".

Bob

Robert C. Cumbow
> Graham & Dunn, P.C.
> 1420 Fifth Avenue, 33rd Floor
> Seattle, Washington 98101-2390
> Phone: 206-340-9619
> Fax: 206-340-9599
> E-mail: rcumbow[_at_]grahamdunn.com
> Website: http://www.grahamdunn.com/
Received on Fri Aug 13 1999 - 17:17:55 GMT