Factors affecting the loss of Intellectual Property

1.Several factors can play an influential role in losing the Intellectual Property. The primary step in protecting the intellectual property is to ensure the trademark for the particular product. The scenario for the Chinese antenna manufacturing company can be threatening if the company fails to ensure the trademark for their new product [1]. The company is aiming at dealing in the global market; hence, it is important for them to eliminate threats from similar kinds of product. 

In addition to this, if the company fails to ensure the industrial design, chances of design piracy becomes higher for the company [2]. As per the case study, it is can be understood that an emerging Australian company is aiming to come up with a similar kind of high efficiency and low cost antenna as a response to the increasing market demand. Hence, failing to file a petition to protect the design and prototype may lead the company to lose their IP in the Australian market.

The Chinese manufacturing company is has signed an agreement with an Australian company, giving them the rights to sell their high efficiency antenna in the Australian market. AntenN should be very careful and keep on constant monitoring so that the Victorian company does not play a tyrannous role and disclose the trade secret of AntenN to any other company. If the trade secret of the company is disclosed then it will have a high possibility to lose the intellectual property rights [3].

2.If it is assumed that the company does not have a patent for the new product that they are going to launch in the Australian market, it can be a serious problem for the AntenN. An emerging Australian company that is coming up with the similar products and have a high chance to capture the market is already threatening it. Hence, in this situation opting for a standard patent take a longer span [4]. In this scenario, the manufacturing company can opt for filing innovation patent, as the process takes a shorter span. In addition to this, the company can opt for filling a provisional patent application. A provisional patent application will provide the company one year of time. However, going for a provisional patent may set aside the process of patenting for a year. In this regard, it is also to be kept in mind that the organization has be very cautious while filling up the application. The next step towards gaining a quick patent is to accelerate the examination procedure. It is seen that the examination for the patent filling process takes a long time. Hence, to accelerate the procedure the company can initiate the acceleration by making their petition special. Several factors can make the patent to be seen as a special case [5]. The advanced age or illness of the inventors make the application as a special consideration. In addition to this, if the inventors of the product become successful in improving the health of the environment, helping in energy conservation or combating natural calamities, terrorism, then the petition can possibly be granted in priority basis. In the context of the antenna manufacturing company, it can be said that the manufacturer can highlight the possible good outcomes that can be seen by implementing the technology.

Options for patent protection

3.The first and foremost step of retaining the IP is to the registration of the trademark. The strategies to protect the trademark should be taken as the highest priority. The procedure of trademark registration ensures the right to use the “R” symbol along with the brand name [6]. This procedure enables the brand to notify the consumers about the righteous claim made by the company. Moreover, the symbol ensures the public that the company does not have any legal setback. The procedure of obtaining patent ensures the fact that the company has obtained the permission from the government in order to identify and exclude their product from other similar products. Hence, in if the Chinese company, AntenN does not have the copyright fort their new product it can prove to be fatal for their business in Australia.

Moreover, in order to protect the intellectual rights for their new and high efficiency antenna, it is very important for the company to protect the industrial design. The industrial design rights ensure that the visual design of the product is protected [7]. The industrial design of a product includes designing and ensuring the shape of the product, color and other relevant features.

Another important aspect in the protection of the intellectual property is protecting the trade secret of the product. Trade secret includes the formula, design, instrument and the compilation procedure [8]. As the AntenN is coming up with a new product and aiming a new market, it is very important for them to ensure that any other rival company cannot take the design and formula used by the company away.

4.In order to protect the brand from any unethical practice it is highly important for a company to register the name of the company as a trademark. To register the trademark, the manufacturing company needs to follow certain steps. In order to apply for the trademark, a company or an inventor needs to search in the “Australian Trademark Search System” to ensure that any other inventor or company is not using the trade name [9]. By searching in the system, both the currently registered and the applied trade names can be seen. The next step for obtaining trademark is applying for it. The application procedure needs to be done cautiously, as any error in the process may lead to the cancelation of the application.

Filling for an industrial design requires some steps to be followed. The primary step towards the filling is to identify the owner of the industrial design. The description of the product is to be given minutely. In addition to this, a pictorial or graphical representation of the product is to be given [10]. The next step of obtaining industrial design is the national as well as international screening procedure done by the administrative authority. Examination of the primary and formal requirements are also done by the Patent Office.  

5.If the Ray Con aims at genuinely building their own products, with their own design and formula, then it is not possible for the company to stop the company. However, the company needs to ensure that the organization has taken up all the required steps in order to ensure that they have covered all the legal and patenting issues. Moreover, AntenN can take up strategies to ensure their market position. The company can take up marketing and advertising policies in order to create a brand awareness amongst the consumers [11]. As the company has signed agreement with a Victorian company to sell their products in Australia, AntenN is likely to gain an edge over the Australian market. In order to win over the competitive market, AntenN should take up marketing strategy of making the brand name synonymous with the product. Being one of the primary manufacturers of the high efficiency and low cost modern antennas, the company has vast scope of creating that much of a brand awareness.  

Reference:

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[10] Williams G. In short. Survey of Education in Northern Nigeria. 2014.

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