Copyright generally refers to the right granted for the protection of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, as well as other other works resulting from the author’s own intellectual creation. Related rights are those granted for the protection of performers, producers, broadcasters etc. In some laws, however, the term copyright is used to cover both the rights of authors and some or all of the related rights. In recent years it has become usual to refer to certain categories of rights as sui generis rights. These are rights which may be regarded as different in nature from copyright and related rights, though dealing with intellectual property in products and requiring a distinct sui generis protection. The protection provided by copyright, related rights and sui generis rights is to be distinguished from that available under laws concerning patents, trade marks, industrial designs and trade secrets and other forms of intellectual property. Patents are monopolies granted for the protection of inventions and new methods of manufacture. Patent protection depends on registration and other formalities, and is valid for a shorter period than copyright. Nevertheless, there can be an overlap between patent and copyright protection, for instance in regard to protection of computer programs or inventions related to such programs. Manufacture of an article may infringe a patent, even when the maker did not know of the patent’s existence. Copyright of a work, however, is not infringed by a similar work, if the latter was created without any use of the pre-existing work. Trade marks are marks applied to goods or services in order to indicate origin. There are special rules as to what may be used as a trade mark, but no considerations of artistic quality apply. Sometimes a picture or other representation used as a trade mark will itself be subject to copyright protection, when the necessary criteria for such protection is fulfilled. Industrial designs are generally considered to be those designs used in the industrial manufacture of articles, in quantity. Some industrial designs are for purely functional objects. Other industrial designs have both functional and artistic aspects, for instance when a design for mass-produced metal lamps contains aspects that make the lamp attractive from the artistic point of view. The overlap between protection of industrial designs and copyright in artistic works is one of the most difficult areas of law in the field of intellectual property. Trade secrets are protected by the law relating to confidential information. Other forms of protection are available under laws relating to unfair competition, contracts and tortious acts, preventing prejudice to businesses by use of unlawful means. The unauthorised use of a copyright work may well involve breach of one or more of these separate forms of protection. Copyright, related rights, sui generis rights, patents, trade marks, trade secrets etc. may be protected by civil remedies or criminal sanctions
