Professional Issues In Computing: Intellectual Property in the Computing Industry

Intellectual Property Intellectual property, often known as IP, allows people to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. The owner of IP can control and be rewarded for its use, and this encourages further innovation and creativity to the benefit of us all. In some cases IP gives rise to protection for ideas but in other areas there will have to be more elaboration of an idea …

…the trade mark, and the right to prevent unauthorised use through a legal action for infringement. Further major legislation on trade marks was enacted in 1883, 1905, and 1938. Despite amendments to the 1938 Act by the Trade Marks (Amendment) Act 1984 (which introduced the registration of service marks), the Patents, Designs and Trade Marks Act 1986, and the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (which made the forgery of a trade mark a criminal offence), the law was largely unchanged until 1994.