FRANCHISE: Understanding intellectual property
What you need to know:
- As a brand owner, this involves protecting every creation you claim as your invention, called Intellectual Property-IP.
We start filling the gaps identified in the franchisability test. Franchising hinges on existence of a tried, tested and trusted brand, founded on strong legal protection, among other variables.
As a brand owner, this involves protecting every creation you claim as your invention, called Intellectual Property-IP. These are creations of your mind that make your business unique.
Intellectual Property consists of Industrial Property and Copyrights. Industrial Property includes commercial names and designations, trademarks, service marks, patents, industrial designs, layout-designs of integrated circuits, geographical indications and protection against unfair competition.
Copyrights cover artistic and literaly creations e.g. music, films, sculptures, paintings and technology works e.g. computer applications.
A globally-organized system for IP rights protection exists under the World Intellectual Property Organization-WIPO-a UN agency. WIPO manages the International Trademark System, International Patent System, International Design System, International System of Appellations of Origin and a system of Dispute Resolution in IP including Internet Domain Names.
Tanzania’s BRELA is aligned to these systems. Copyrights generally need no registration, though the Copyright Society of Tanzania-COSOTA-registers registrable copyrights e.g. music, movies, computer applications etc.
Commercial Names and Designations are the most common forms of business registration, whether as limited liability companies, partnerships or simply business names. The registration process is simple and shouldn’t be overly-expensive.
At www.brela,go.tz you will register your commercial name and designation online by following the instrutions. Choosing limited liability or partnership designations necessitates a lawyer to expertly prepare documents to file your application.
Trademarks and Service marks are symbols or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product. Most people, after registering commercial names think that is all needed to have legal brands. You need to register a trademark (for goods) or service mark (for services). Your graphic designer-friend may develop a good-looking logo expressing what your business does to use alongside the commercial name.
Protect these immediately to avoid future ownership disputes.
Though common law protects you having used them unregistered, a lengthy dispute resolution process awaits you should someone else claim them-normally, managed by a tribunal within the IP-registration authority. Ensure your graphic designer-friend signs a copyright transfer deed, merely paying for the logo design isn’t enough proof of ownership.
IP rights are territorial, meaning they must be registered separately over different legal jurisdictions. Through the WIPO systems, (using BRELA and COSOTA), Tanzanian inventors can register inventions in 191 legal jurisdictions signatory to various IP treaties managed by WIPO.
The Harare-based Africa Regional Intellectual Property Office-ARIPO-brings together 19 African states under the Lusaka Agreement, including Tanzania.
The writer is a franchise consultant helping indigenous East African brands to franchise, multinational franchise brands to settle in East Africa and governments to create a franchise-friendly business environment.
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