Glossary of IP Terms

BRAND - the American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. A “brand” is “the means by which a company aims to differentiate its product from competition and to protect its position in the market, profitability, overtime.”https://www.thebalancemoney.com/why-is-branding-important-when-it-comes-to-your-marketing-2294845

BRAND PROTECTION – strategic efforts by rights holder to protect brand value, trust, integrity, and reputation that is being eroded and damaged by gray marketing, counterfeiting, cybersquatting, trademark, copyright, and patent infringements, etc.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL - is a team working together to deliver products to end users. Typically, manufacturers distribute product via one tier channel models or a combination of first-tier distributors/resellers and second-tier resellers (AGMA/KPMG whitepaper, “Improved Point-of-Sale Reporting Benefits Manufacturers, Channels, and End Users: A Study of the High-Tech Industry,” © 2006 KPMG LLP)

COUNTERFEIT GOODS - are non-genuine goods that infringe on the intellectual property of rights holders. Counterfeiting is a deliberate intent to deceive buyers by copying and distributing goods bearing trademarks without authorization from trademark owners.

COUNTERFEITING - is a deliberate intent to deceive buyers by copying and distributing goods bearing trademarks (and/or copyrights and/or patents) without authorization from IP rights holders.

DIGITAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - is intellectual property in digital format.

GRAY MARKETING - is unauthorized transacting in genuine branded goods resulting from diversion from authorized channels into the hands of third parties, including the open market. Also known as parallel importing, gray marketing is the sale of genuine branded products that have been diverted from authorized distribution channels or that have been imported into another country without the consent and knowledge of the brand owner.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): “Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce and is divided into two categories:  Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs.”

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION - From a legal standpoint, there are four types of intellectual property: Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secret. IP registered in one of these categories with state and federal agencies is protected by law, and if infringed upon or otherwise abused, the infringers can be prosecuted.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – According to World Trade Organization (WTO) - intellectual property rights are the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period. https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/intel1_e.htm

PARALLEL IMPORTS – see Gray Marketing

SERVICE ABUSE - is defined as the use of services and support without proper entitlement or authorization-including actual equipment replacement, technical support, and/or software without proper or entitlement contract - with the intent to benefit from defrauding the provider. In other words, service abuse is service usage by a party that is not entitled to receive the service.

SOFTWARE PIRACY – According to Software Business Alliance (BAS) software piracy is the unauthorized copying or distribution of copyrighted software. This can be done by copying, downloading, sharing, selling, or installing multiple copies onto personal or work on computers.

WARRANTY FRAUD - is defined as the use of warranty support without proper entitlement or authorization-including actual equipment replacement, technical support and/or software without proper warranty or entitlement contract - with the intent to benefit from defrauding the provider. In other words, warranty fraud is service usage by a party that is not entitled to receive the warranty service.