ME 362

Mechanical Engineering
Design
Part 6.2

Muhammad Ilyas
 Gathering Information

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 Information from the Internet

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 Information from the Internet

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 Information from the Internet

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 Information from the Internet
In our region, we need to compile a comprehensive
directory of suppliers / manufacturers

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 Intellectual Property (IP)

Refers to the protection of ideas with copyrights,

trademarks, trade secrets and patents
e.g. music, literature, and other artistic works;
discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases,
symbols, and designs
These entities fall within the broad area of property
law and, can be sold or leased just like other forms of
property

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 Intellectual Property (IP)

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 Copyright
Legal right created by law of the country that grants the
creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use and
distribution, usually for a limited time, with the intention
of enabling the creator (e.g. the photographer of a
photograph or the author of a book) to receive
compensation for their intellectual work
BTW, can be used without compensation?

Fair use and Fair dealing

Copyright does not prohibit all copying or
replication
Permits some copying and distribution
without permission of the copyright holder or
payment to same
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 Copyright
Fair use and Fair dealing

Without
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permission: Illegal Allowed Legal

Is there something like copyleft??
Copyleft : using copyright law to offer the right to
distribute copies and modified versions of a work and
requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified
versions of the work
e.g. computer software (source code), documents, art etc

Copyleft gives freedom to :

use the work
study the work
copy and share the work with others
modify the work
distribute modified / derivative works
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 Trademark
Trade mark : any name, word, symbol or device that
is used by a company to identify its goods or services
and to distinguish them from those made or sold by
others
Right to use trademark : obtained by registration and
extends indefinitely so long the trade mark continues
to be used

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 Trade Secret
Trade secret is any formula, pattern, device or
compilation of information which is used in a
business to create an opportunity over competitors
who do not have this information
Sometimes trade secrets are information which could
be patented
Since trade secret has no legal protection, it is
essential to maintain the information in secret
e.g. : generally, the ingredients of a medicine is known to
everyone but how the medicine is produced (e.g. sequence
of chemical reactions) by a pharmaceutical company is a
trade secret!

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 Patent Literature
PATENT
The word originates from Latin patere, meaning "to lay open" i.e.
to make available for public inspection (www.dictionary.com)
A patent : registering an invention or a novel work with an
organization owned by a state
In modern usage, the term patent usually refers to the right
granted to anyone who invents any new, useful, and non-obvious
process, machine, article of manufacture or composition of matter
In principle, the patent owner has the exclusive right to
prevent / stop others from commercially exploiting the
patented invention
In other words, patent protection means that the invention
cannot be commercially made, used, distributed, imported
or sold by others without the patent owner's consent
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 Patent Literature

Patents can generally only be enforced through civil

lawsuits (e.g. US patent law)
In most countries, both individual persons and corporate entities
may apply for a patent
U.S. patent system is the largest body of information on technology
in the world (only ~20% of the technology that is contained in US
patents can be found elsewhere in published literature)
At present over 5 million US patents. Number is increasing at a
rate close to 100,000 each year
Old patents help in tracing the development of ideas in
engineering
New patents describe whats happening at the frontiers of the field

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 Patent US Law

Article 1, Section 8, of the

constitution of U.S. states that
Congress shall have the power to
promote progress in science and
technology by securing for limited
times to inventors the exclusive
right to their discoveries
A patent granted by the U.S.
Government gives the patentee the
right to prevent others from
making, using, or selling the
patented invention

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 Patent

Any patent application filed since

1995 has a term of protection that
begins on the date of the grant of
the patent and ends on a date 20
years after the filing date of the
application.
The 20Years term brings U.S. in
harmony with other countries of
the world

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 Types of Patents
Utility patent
Most common type
Issued for new and useful machines, processes,
articles of manufacture or composition of matter
etc.
Design patent
Issued for new ornamental design (e.g. coke bottle)
Plant patents
Granted for new varieties of plants (e.g. roses)
Computer software are generally protected by
copyright, but in cases where software is
embedded into hardware, they are also patented

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 Patent Law

Patent Law a process is defined as an operation

performed by rule to produce a certain result
Patent Law defines a patentable process to include a
new use of a known process, machine, manufacture,
or composition of matter.
A new use of a known compound which is not
analogous to a known use may be a patentable
process.

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 Patent Law

Not all processes are patentable

Laws of nature and physical phenomena cannot be patented
Mathematical equations and methods of solving them are not
patentable subject matters
Abstracted ideas cannot be patented
Merely for changing the size or shape of a machine part, or for
substituting a better material for an inferior one
Artistic, dramatic, literary, and musical works are protected by
copyright, not by patents
Some business practices can be patented

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 Criteria for Awarding Patent

The invention must be New

or Novel

The invention must be

Useful

It must be non-obvious to a
person skilled in the art
covered by the patent

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 Reading a Patent
Patent is a legal document, hence its style is
different from the usual technical paper
Some of the patent portions are the following:
Claim(s) generally at the end
Inventor listed on the top, may be different than assignee
Assignee the true owner, e.g. the company where inventor
works
Title
References
Field of invention
Summary
Abstract
Detailed description
Pictures / drawings
Related application
Background
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 Reading a Patent
Patent No., Date
Name!

Application No., Date

Claim, No. of dwgs

Typical dwg
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 Reading a Patent

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 Reading a Patent: Compact Disc Case

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 Reading a Patent

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 Patent

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 Patent

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