Intellectual Property Rights in Software Industry

Running head: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Intellectual Property Rights
Name of the Student
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Author Note

1INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Answer a):
It is evident that from the very beginning, intellectual property rights have been
protecting the software industry from infringement. The concept of intellectual property rights is
such that it has been referring to a range of intangible rights of ownership in particular assets
especially in case of a software program (Fang, Lerner & Wu, 2017). There are four kinds of
intellectual property rights relevant to software application. These are patents, copyrights,
trademarks and trade secrets (Alimov & Officer, 2017). Each of the above provides different
type of legal protection. The technology is protected by patents, copyrights and trade secrets.
Trademarks in general, do not protect technology however; they do protect names and symbols
(Chen, Bharadwaj & Goh, 2017).
It is worthwhile to mention here that, for each of the rights mentioned above various risks
of intellectual property infringement are there which are associated with the actions on the part
of John. Software patents can be extremely powerful (Fitzgerald, 2017). The features of software
are patented in order to protect them from infringement (Liu & La Croix, 2015). It is known that
patents can be obtained for ideas, algorithms, functions and methods embodied inside a software
product. Therefore, in regard to the present scenario, any individual making use of or selling the
patented invention without prior authorization of the owner shall be held guilty of infringement
(Cook & Liu, 2016). In this regard, it is worth noting that, in some cases, the patent of an
invention is granted without providing absolute to the patented technology; in this case the
development of the invention on the part of another inventor is held to be an infringement
(Maresch, Fink & Harms, 2016). Copyright is the protection applied to the ways in which ideas
are expressed. The Copyright Act (Cap 63, 2006 Rev Ed) do not protect two identical creations
which has been independently produced by two different individuals as observed in the case of

2INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Chua Puay Kiang v Singapore Telecommunications Limited [1999] 1 SLR(R) and Virtual Map
Singapore Pte Ltd v Singapore Land Authority and Another Application [2009] 2 SLR(R) 558.
It is evident that John adopted the TripOwl as the logo however used it in an inverted form. In
this regard, John has infringed the mark. Therefore, as a result of such unauthorized use of
trademark in connection to goods and services it creates confusion and deception regarding the
sources of the goods and services.
Various legal remedies are available on the part of the Courts of Singapore in cases
involving infringement of intellectual property rights. The remedies can be emphasized as
injunctions, damages, accounts of profits and compensation (Czarnitzki, Hussinger & Schneider,
2015). In case of infringement of copyright, trademark and patents, the owner of the intellectual
property can elect for an award of statutory damages. In this regard the Court can grant an
amount not exceeding $ 10,000 however; if it is proved that the intellectual property was
infringed then the Court is at the authority to grant an amount of $ 200,000. In this context, the
Court shall rely upon a number of factors which can be categorized as-
 The nature of the infringing acts on the part of the individual whether it was personal or
commercial.
 The circumstances that whether the defendant has acted in bad faith.
 The loss suffered by the plaintiff as a result of such infringement.
Answer b):
Firstly, the major differences between an IP license and assignment are concerned with
the interest vested on the intellectual property (Maresch, Fink & Harms, 2016). Therefore, when
any individual is licensing any IP to another then in that case, permission is granted to utilize the