What is a database for intellectual property rights?

A database for intellectual property rights represents an organised way of storing information for all IP assets that one company or individual owns. Such a database is important because it allows these assets to be managed properly and their protection to be maintained successfully.

The database can include different sections depending on the type of intellectual property. Typically it would give easy access to the relevant information and the necessary flexibility for better efficiency.

Intellectual property databases are absolutely essential for every company or individual that possesses such assets.

Through such a database the owner can look over all of its assets, can follow the relevant deadlines for work with Patent Offices and business partners, can keep an eye on the different terms related to these assets, can work easily with its IP attorneys and customers, etc.

Without an IP database, the risk of missing deadlines or for example a term for renewing IP protection can rise significantly. What’s more, the owner will not know what IP assets possess and can miss opportunities for profiting from them or even can lose money.

The database gives a clear view of what you have and at the same time provides you with an option to manage your assets in a more efficient way.

If we put potential flexibility to the database this by itself can not only organize your assets but can save you time and money in the long run.

There are several options for the creation of an IP database:

• A standard excel sheet — is probably the easiest way to build an intellectual property database. You can create a classic excel table where to fill in the whole information for your IP rights. The plus here is that this is a very easy way, however, there are several downsides. First of all the excel file doesn’t have reminders that can pop up or can be sent to your email. Even in case, there are some solutions for that you will need to put additional efforts in that regard. Another problem could be if you store this file locally on your computer you can lose it because of technical issues. And when the file becomes too heavy it can be troublesome to be managed.
• A paid specialised software — is definitely the best option, because such software is built with the purpose of managing IP assets. There are two main downsides, however. The first is that such software is expensive in most cases, which could be a challenge for individual IP owners, small or even mid-sized companies. The other issue could be that the software can be complex requiring some specialised knowledge and training which could prove costly.
• Adapted cloud-based applications — the third option is to use some cloud-based apps that, while not created specifically for database purposes, with some adjustments could be utilized to do the job. This is a good choice for individuals, freelancers, authors, and small- to mid-size companies and startups. In most cases, it doesn’t require a large budget and it can be used without serious training.

I’m finding this third option quite interesting and capable of doing the job. That’s why I created this a Udemy course in order to show you how to use one such free application, in this case, Asana, to create your own IP database which will serve you well for the purpose it is built for. I hope that you will like the course.

Now there is a promo code — 95% OFF — for the course, you can find it here

You can find a referral link to the course here too.

One crucial thing before filing a trademark in order not to waste your money and time

When you have your own business sooner or later you will start thinking about your branding and how to protect it from unfair use by competitors.

All of this is normal because when one business takes off, gaining some traction and achieving some success, other market participants will try to take advantage of its reputation and recognizability amongst the consumers. 

From that perspective, every business owner should be prepared with a proper trademark protection strategy.

Building a good brand name is not an easy task. From one side, such a name should follow so many marketing requirements, from the other the name should be unique, that is to say, it must not be registered as a trademark by someone else.

This, in particular, is essential. If your brand is already registered with the Patent Office of the country where you are operating as a business, this means that you can become a trademark infringer even without suspecting this.

It can be a trap because in such cases a lawsuit can be really expensive and in the end, you probably will need to change your beloved brand.

What is the solution in such situations? Well, it is a simple one, just check the official trademark database of your state Patent Office. This will show you whether there are earlier marks or not.

What do you need to know when you conduct such searches?

In brief, the things that can be bear in mind are:

1. Every trademark is valid only for the goods and services for which it is registered. This means that when you compare two marks they have to share common G&S. If this is the case it could create a problem. All goods and services are grouped in classes called Nice Classes. You can classify your G&S using this free tool TMCLASS.
2. Trademark protection scope covers not only other identical signs but similar too. For example, a trademark INEX for bicycles can stop a later mark INIX for bicycles.
3. Assessment of identical marks is relatively easy. Both marks should be absolutely identical in every aspect. They have to be for identical G&S too.
4. Assessment of similar marks, however, could be tricky. This requires in-depth legal knowledge and understanding of the case law in the relevant country.

It is advisable, such searches to be done through the brand-building process because this will allow you to make modifications to the brand before launching and filing a trademark application. It can save you a lot of money and time. 

In case you want to learn how to do trademark searches in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand you can check this Udemy Complete course on trademark search.

When is there an infringement of database rights?

The European Court has ruled in case C‑762/19 „CV-Online Latvia“ SIA v „Melons“ SIA. This dispute concerns potential infringements of sui generis rights over databases and has the following background:

CV-Online, a company incorporated under Latvian law, operates the website http://www.cv.lv. That website includes a database, developed and regularly updated by CV-Online, containing job advertisements published by employers.

The website http://www.cv.lv is also equipped with meta tags of the ‘microdata’ type. Those tags, which are not visible when the CV-Online web page is opened, allow internet search engines to better identify the content of each page in order to index it correctly. In the case of CV-Online’s website, those meta tags contain, for each job advertisement in the database, the following key words: ‘job title’, ‘name of the undertaking’, ‘place of employment’ and ‘date of publication of the notice’.

Melons, also a company incorporated under Latvian law, operates the website http://www.kurdarbs.lv, which is a search engine specialising in job advertisements. That search engine makes it possible to carry out a search on several websites containing job advertisements, according to various criteria, including the type of job and the place of employment. By means of hyperlinks, the website http://www.kurdarbs.lv refers users to the websites on which the information sought was initially published, including CV-Online’s website. By clicking on such a link, the user can, inter alia, access the website http://www.cv.lv, in order to become acquainted with that site and the entirety of its contents. The information contained in the meta tags inserted by CV-Online in the programming of its website is also displayed in the list of results obtained when using the specialised search engine of Melons.

Taking the view that there is a breach of its sui generis right under Article 7 of Directive 96/9, CV-Online brought an action against Melons. It maintains that Melons ‘extracts’ and ‘re-utilises’ a substantial part of the contents of the database on the website http://www.cv.lv.

The court of first instance found that there had been a breach of that right, on the ground that there was a ‘re-utilisation’ of the database.

Melons brought an appeal against the judgment at first instance before the Regional Court, Riga (Civil Law Division), Latvia. It maintains that its website does not provide online transmission, namely, that it does not operate ‘in real time’. Melons also claims that a distinction must be drawn between the website http://www.cv.lv and the database which it contains. It submits, in that regard, that it is the meta tags used by CV-Online that cause the information relating to the job advertisements to appear in the results obtained by means of the http://www.kurdarbs.lv search engine and that those meta tags are not part of the database. Melons claims that it was precisely because CV-Online wanted the search engines to show that information that CV-Online inserted those meta tags in the programming of its site.

In those circumstances, the Regional Court, Riga (Civil Law Division), Latvia decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling:

‘(1)  Should the defendant’s activities, which consist in using a hyperlink to redirect end users to the applicant’s website, where they can consult a database of job advertisements, be interpreted as falling within the definition of ‘re-utilisation’ in Article 7(2)(b) of [Directive 96/9], more specifically, as the re-utilisation of the database by another form of transmission?

(2)  Should the information containing the meta tags that is shown in the defendant’s search engine be interpreted as falling within the definition of ‘extraction’ in Article 7(2)(a) of [Directive 96/9], more specifically, as the permanent or temporary transfer of all or a substantial part of the contents of a database to another medium by any means or in any form?’

The Court’s decision:

Article 7(1) and (2) of Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases must be interpreted as meaning that an internet search engine specialising in searching the contents of databases, which copies and indexes the whole or a substantial part of a database freely accessible on the internet and then allows its users to search that database on its own website according to criteria relevant to its content, is ‘extracting’ and ‘re-utilising’ that content within the meaning of that provision, which may be prohibited by the maker of such a database where those acts adversely affect its investment in the obtaining, verification or presentation of that content, namely that they constitute a risk to the possibility of redeeming that investment through the normal operation of the database in question, which it is for the referring court to verify.

How to create a database using Asana?

Most people and companies that own intellectual property rights such as trademarks, patents, copyrights etc., come to a conclusion that after receiving the relevant protection the job is done and everything will be fine for those rights.

Not only this is not the case, it could be a huge mistake.

When you own or make business with intellectual property you need to be proactive and to maintain it constantly otherwise you can lose this protection.

For example, if you have a patent for invention in order to keep its protection active, you need to pay annual fees to the Patent Office.

In the case of trademarks, for every 10 years, in most of the cases, you need to renew the trademark otherwise you will lose its protection.

All of this requires a good knowledge and information for the status of every IP asset that you possess.

Big companies use professional software that keeps all of the intellectual property information at one place which allows companies to maintain the relevant protection and to keep up with all legal requirements.

For individual owner and small businesses, however, such a software could be way too expensive.

That’s way I decided to create a Udemy course that teaches you how to build your all database with intellectual property information for free, just using one very well-known application called Asana.

The database that I created in the course, although not so sophisticated as a professional software decision, it can do the job quite properly.

This can save you a lot of time, money and problems when it comes to maintaining the protection of your intellectual property right.

If you are interested you can check the “A complete guide on how to build an IP database using Asana“.

Can I build an IPRs database for free using Asana?

When you are an owner of intellectual property rights such as patents, trademarks, domains, designs, copyrights etc., it’s not enough only to protect them.

In order to maintain their protection and to take advantage of it you need to know all the time what you have and whether there is something you need to do for its protection and use.

The way to achieve this is to build your own database where to store the whole information about your intellectual property assets.

A database for intellectual property represents an organised way of storing information for all IP assets that one company or individual owns.

The database can include different sections depending on the type of the intellectual property. What is typical for it to have, in general, is an easy access to the relevant information and the necessary flexibility for better efficiency.

So how you can build such a database?

The easiest way, although the most expensive, is to buy a specialized software in the form of an intellectual property database which will allow you to store your information. There are many products in that regard but most of them can break the bank.

If you are a startup company, entrepreneur or just a freelancer who owns some intellectual property, such an option could be impossible.

Is there another solution?

Yes there is. You can build your own database using free services such as Google sheets, for instance. However, you can adapt some of the many productivity and project management apps turning them into a database too.

One example in that regard is Asana which can be used as an intellectual property database completely for free. What’s more, because it is a cloud based solution you will have access to your information from everywhere. In addition you will be able to take advantage of some of its options such as collaborating with your team, IP attorney etc.

If you want to learn how to build such a database you can check this new upcoming course from here. There will be free coupons for early birds.

Australia joins TMView

EUIPO reports about the accession of Australia to the global trademark database TMView. In this way 1.6 million Australian trademarks will be added to the database, which will give access to almost 60 million marks from around the world.

For more information here. 

How to build and manage remotely an intellectual property database?

In the time when more and more companies close their offices because of the COVID-19 emergency situation, the question how the office work to be done remotely is one that becomes vital for the entire company’s operation.

Intellectual property matters are not an exception.  The fact that you cannot work from your office it doesn’t mean that the work has not to be done and the deadlines not to be met.

When it comes to intellectual property to keep the deadlines is something must.

From one hand obtaining an intellectual property protection requires following different, and sometimes, long proceedings before the relevant official authorities.

This comes with different deadlines and a serious communication with the Patent Office and intellectual property attorneys.

What’s more, in situations of buying or selling protected works or cases of mergers and acquisitions, where intellectual property is part of, you need to keep an eye on the negotiation and transfer process for every single IP asset. 

On the other hand, the fact that you own IP rights is not the end of the story. On the contrary. Every IP asset needs to be maintained properly in order for its protection to be solid and even available. 

For example, if you have a trademark or patent application but you miss the deadline for paying the official Patent Office’s fees your application will be rejected.  This means that your business can lose valuable assets that can generate a future profit.

That’s why every owner of intellectual property rights has to integrate a system and tools that will allow management of all intellectual property assets from one place remotely using every possible device.

This will allow the deadlines to be met and the intellectual property to be protected.

But how to achieve this?

Big companies can pay for specialized software for that purpose, which can be used by the employees even from home. However, for small and mid size companies, or individual entrepreneurs or freelancers, such software can be way too expensive or even complex for integration.

If you cannot afford such a solution you can achieve a similar result by adopting some of the available online productivity tools for free. For example, you can use tools such as Asana, Notion, Wrike etc. to build your own intellectual property database.

If you are interested in this matter, you can sign up for this upcoming Udemy course, where you will learn how to build your own IP database in a very simple way, using one very well-known productivity application Asana which will cost you nothing. This will allow you to manage all IP assets an keep all deadlines remotely from home. You can even use this database to communicate with your team or IP attorneys. 

You can sign up from here. There will be free coupons for early birds.