Intellectual Property

　　Generally, intellectual property is intangible and is created by intellectual effort as opposed to physical effort. In the United States, patents, copyrights and trademarks are governed by federal law. Trade secrets are governed by state law.

　　一般來說,知識產(chǎn)權是無形的并且是由相對于體力勞動的智力勞動創(chuàng)造的。在美國，專利權、版權和商標權是由聯(lián)邦法管轄的，而商業(yè)秘密是由州法律管轄。

　　A patent is a governmental grant of an exclusive monopoly as an incentive and a reward for a new invention. To be patentable, an idea must be novel, useful and nonobvious. 1In the U. S. A. , the owner of a patent controls the right to make, sell and use a product for a period of seventeen years and a design for fourteen years. If one manufactures, sells, or uses a patented invention without authorization of the patent owner, he has probably committed patent infringement. The infringement exists even if the infringer did not know about the patent. Infringers can be liable for damages and may be enjoined from future infringement.

　　專利權是政府對一項新發(fā)明授予的獨占的權利，以給予該發(fā)明以鼓勵和獎勵，一項具有專利性的想法必須具備新穎性、實用性和非顯著性。在美國，專利權人對產(chǎn)品的制作、銷售及使用有十七年的控制權，而設計是十四年。如果某人未經(jīng)專利權人授權而制造、銷售及使用該專利發(fā)明，那么他就可能是專利侵權行為。即使侵權人不了解專利侵權依然存在。侵權人可以要求賠償并且禁止以后侵權。

　　However, the party challenged with patent infringement can escape liability in a variety of ways. One way is by proving that the challenged product or process is outside the scope of the patent. Another way is by proving that the patent is invalid because it fails to meet the criteria for patentability. A third way is to establish that the patent holder has misused the patent. Misuse of a patent occurs when a patent holder uses the patent to achieve something illegally. The most common type of misuse occurs when the patent holder uses the patent to violate the antitrust laws.

　　然而，被質疑專利侵權的一方可以用許多方式逃避責任。一個方式是證明被質疑的產(chǎn)品或過程是在專利的領域之外。另一個方式是證明由于專利未能滿足專利性的標準而無效。第三個方式是證實專利權人濫用專利。當一個專利權人利用專利去非法的完成某些事時，專利濫用就發(fā)生了。最常見的濫用專利權常發(fā)生在專利權人利用其專利違反反壟斷法的時候。

　　A copyright protects the physical expression of intellectual or artistic effort, not the idea. A copyright is effective for the life of the creator plus fifty years. Anyone who creates an original work is protected by an automatic common law copyright. Published materials without statutory copyright protection are said to him in the public domain and may be used by anyone, without the consent of the creator, 3To obtain statutory copyright protection, materials must be published with the copyright notice, which takes the form of the word "copyright" or the abbreviation copr. , or the symbol (c) followed by the name of the copyright owner. Copyrights may be registered with the Register of Copyright and copies of the copyrighted material are provided by the Library of Congress. If one violates the copyright created by the copyright notice, he may only be enjoined from future violations. If he violates a copyright created by registration, he may be liable for damages, fines or imprisonment. Owners of copyrights may assign their ownership to others.

　　版權保護的是對智力或藝術成果的有形描述，而不是主意。版權的保護期是創(chuàng)作者的終身再加五十年。任何人創(chuàng)作了作品之后都自動受到普通法版權的保護，未獲成文法版權保護的出版物被稱為在公共領域，任何人都可以不經(jīng)作者同意而使用。要想獲得成文法版權的保護，作品出版時必須有版權標志，其形式有單詞"copyright"或縮寫"copr."及附有版權人姓名的符號c。版權可以向版權登記簿登記并且國會圖書館將提供作品的復印件。如果侵犯了通過版權標志受到保護的版權，侵權人可能僅僅被禁止再侵權行為；但如果侵犯了注冊版權，侵權人便會承擔支付損害賠償，罰款或被監(jiān)禁的法律責任。版權人可以轉讓他們的權利給其他人。

　　A trademark is a mark on goods that distinguishes the marked goods from competing goods. The mark may be a word, picture or design. In order to qualify as a trademark, the mark must not be overly descriptive or generic. Trademarks are protected through registration. Unauthorized use of the registered trademarks of others is illegal. Public perception plays a significant role in trademark law. If the public comes to perceive that a trademark is generic, it will lose its legal status as a trademark. Public perception can also create a legal right for an attribute of a product. If a product's shape or style or features are arbitrary and nonfunctional, and the general public comes to view these features as associated with a particular product, they are said to have acquired a secondary meaning, which may be registered and protected.

　　商標是用來區(qū)別被標記的商品和相競爭的商品間的商品標記。商標可以是一個詞，畫或者設計。為了符合商標的標準，標記不能過度描述的或普通的。商標通過注冊保護。未經(jīng)授權使用他人注冊商標是違法的。公眾的認知在商標法中扮演著一個重要的角色。如果公眾開始認為某個商標是普通的，它將會失去商標的法律地位。公眾的認知也能為產(chǎn)品的某個性質創(chuàng)造法律權利。如果一產(chǎn)品的形狀、式樣或特征是任意的且不具備功能性的，如果公眾將其視為與特定的產(chǎn)品有聯(lián)系的話，它就被稱為取得了引申義，那么該形狀、式樣或特征也可以注冊并受到保護。

　　A trade secret may consist of any formula, device or compilation of information which is used in one's business, and which gives him an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it. Trade secrets must be kept secret. To qualify for protection, the secret must give the firm a competitive advantage. Unlike patents and copyrights, there is no time limit on the life of a trade secret. It is effective as long as the secrecy is maintained. The law protects trade secrets from wrongful appropriation. This does not mean that a competitor cannot use the same manufacturing process. It only means that the competitor must arrive at the idea independently.

　　一個商業(yè)秘密可能由在某個公司使用的公式、設計及信息編輯等組成，并且該商業(yè)秘密賦予它機會去得到優(yōu)勢超過不知道或未使用該秘密的競爭者。商業(yè)秘密必需保有秘密。要符合保護的標準，該秘密必須給予公司競爭性的優(yōu)勢。不象專利和版權，商業(yè)秘密沒有時間限制。只要控制著秘密，它就有效。法律保護商業(yè)秘密不被非法竊取。這并不意味著競爭者不能使用同樣的制造過程。它僅僅意味競爭者必須獨立的得到這個主意