INTERLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGMENT. DO YOU NEED TO WORRY?
NOT THAT MUCH BUT HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.
We’re going to break down intellectual property (IP) and help you avoid breaking the law and losing money.
WE WILL COVER
- The 4 types of IP
- How to check if a product is protected
- How to avoid infringing on another company’s IP
The 4 Types of IP
Patents
Definition
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention with a specific function for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention. In most countries, patent rights fall under private law and the patent holder must sue someone infringing the patent in order to enforce their rights. In some industries patents are an essential form of competitive advantage; in others they are irrelevant.
A patent has to be registered in a specific country, if it is registered in the US, it does not cover anywhere else.
How long it lasts
It varies from country to country but most countries including the US, it is 20 years. After 20 years anybody can make and sell the product or a similar product with the same function.
Example
The TRX is a great example. The TRX in the image above has 2 patents. 1st is how the foot hoop passes through the hand grip, the 2nd is how the hoop under the central carabiner allows the strap around 6 inches of free movement side to side.
TRX was invented by a Navy Seal and he got it patented throughout the world.
Unfortunately for TRX, people worked out how to get the same function without using the same mechanism. The leg straps are individually clipped on and there is no center loop so this is obviously a knock off but does not infringe.
Design Protection
Definition
Design protection is the legal term for protection for innovative designs. Design protection protects appearance and shape, but not a product’s function or the underlying idea. With design protection, no one else can manufacture, sell or import copies of the protected design.
Design protection has to be registered in a specific country, if it is registered in the US, it does not cover anywhere else.
How long it lasts
It varies from country to country but most countries including the US, it is 15 years. After 15 years anybody can make and sell a product with the same design.
Example
Technogym have design protection for their curved treadmill so no one can manufacture or sell this design. Unfortunately for Technogym, they only have protection in the US and Australia so anyone outside of these locations could manufacture and sell the exact same product.
Another issue with the design protection is a company can change the design slightly and sell the same product. You can see the Assault bike is pretty much the same but varied enough to not infringe. If Technogym thinks it is infringing, it is up to them to take them to caught and prove it, which they have not done and these have both been on the market for at least a decade.
Our entire cardio range is IP compliant. Take a look.
Copyright
Definition
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States.
Copyright does not need to be registered, however, an owner needs to be able to prove they created the work if they intend to take legal action to prevent its use.
How long it lasts
In most countries copyright lasts the lifetime of the owner plus 70 years after his death. A none fitness example is H. G. Wells “War Of The Worlds”. He died in 1946 and the story became public domain in 2017 leading to multiple adaptations.
Example
You can’t run an exercise class or play music in the gym that is not in the public domain. For independent gyms this is not really an issue because nobody cares but larger chains can’t just put on a house music album during a class without paying for a PPL licence.
Trademark
Definition
A trademark is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others. The trademark owner can be an individual, business organization, or any legal entity. A trademark may be located on a package, a label, a voucher, or on the product itself. Trademarks used to identify services are sometimes called service marks.
A trademark has to be registered in a specific country, if it is registered in the US, it does not cover anywhere else.
How long it lasts
Trademarks can last indefinitely. After registering a trademark, the owner needs to file paperwork after 5 years to state it is still in commercial use. After that, the owner must file paperwork with evidence to show the trademark is still in use. As a company can own the trademark, this can go on for centuries. The Coca Cola trademark is over 100 years old.
Example
Rogue’s Ohio Bar with Ceracote finish. Ceracote is not a patented formula, Ceracote is the brand name of a formula that is in the public domain. That means the formula is not protected but no one else can call it Ceracote. We can get you the same coating but it’s called ceramic finish. The Ceracote company own the trademark Ceracote but they do not own the ceramic formula.
All our premium Olympic Barbells can be ceramic coated. Take a look.
How to Check if a Product is Protected
There are two ways, 1st is the most thorough. Hire an IP lawyer and have them do the checks for you. That’s not cheap and you’d likely only do that if you feel you’ve come up with a new invention that you want to register and you need to ensure no one else has registered it anywhere else. By the way, if someone has registered a design or patent in a country, another person may be able to register the same thing in another country but the first person to register can have the second registrant’s application nullified.
The second is to use Google Patent Search for patent and design searches and TMview for trademark searches. There is now also artificial inteligence software to help search for copyrighted products.
How to Avoid Infringing on Another Company’s IP
If you are buying a product and you are unsure if you can legally sell it, then Google Patent Search is the way to go. You can put in the company name and search terms to check if it is:
- Protected
- In date
- Covered in you country
Hammer strength protected all their machines in the early 90s, however, their designs expired in the mid 2000s and their patents expired around 2011, however, if it’s a new design you should definitely check.
- If it is not protected then you’re good to go
- If it was protected and the protection has expired, then you’re good to go
- If it is protected but not in the region you will be selling, then you’re good to go
Conclusion
IP can get you in real trouble if you don’t know what you are doing, however, it is the protectors responsibility to enforce their protection. We are not advocating ripping off other peoples ideas but IP has time limits for a reason. If the person that invented the first treadmill, William Cubitt who invented it to be used for forced labor in prisons, we would still have a poorly designed expensive product. Interestingly it was banned in 1900 as it was viewed cruel and inhumane, think of that next time you’re doing an indoor 5k.
Follow the guidelines set out in this article and you’ll stay on the legal path when buying your gym equipment.
For the most competitive pricing for gym equipment, from Barbells to Storage, get in touch.
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