Intellectual Property Rights

Protecting Ideas, Innovation and Creative Work

Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, including inventions, designs, brands and creative works.

Intellectual property rights give creators and businesses legal protection over certain types of intellectual property.

For the IT sector, intellectual property is extremely important because technology companies and IT professionals regularly create software, websites, designs, brands, inventions and other original work.

What is intellectual property?

Intellectual property refers to creations that can have legal and commercial value.

Examples can include:

  • Inventions

  • Software

  • Designs

  • Brand names

  • Logos

  • Written content

  • Music

  • Images

  • Digital artwork

  • Technical processes

New Zealand’s intellectual property system provides different forms of protection for different types of intellectual property.

Main types of intellectual property

New Zealand’s intellectual property system includes several different types of protection.

Trade marks

A trade mark helps distinguish goods or services from those provided by other businesses.

A trade mark can include:

  • Words

  • Logos

  • Shapes

  • Colours

  • Sounds

  • Smells

  • Combinations of these elements

For an IT business, a trade mark could protect:

  • A company name

  • A software product name

  • A logo

  • A distinctive brand

Trade marks can help businesses establish and protect their brand identity.

Patents

A patent provides a legal right to stop others from making, using or selling an invention for up to 20 years, subject to the requirements of New Zealand patent law.

An invention must meet requirements including:

  • Being novel

  • Involving an inventive step

  • Being useful

Patents can therefore be important for technology companies that develop new technical inventions or processes.

For example, a technology company developing a new qualifying technical system or device may consider whether patent protection is appropriate.

Copyright

Copyright protects eligible original creative works.

Examples relevant to IT include:

  • Computer programs

  • Websites

  • Graphics

  • Written content

  • Photography

  • Video

  • Music

  • Digital artwork

Copyright protection is generally automatic for eligible original works.

This means a developer does not normally need to register copyright before copyright protection can apply to an eligible original work.

Registered designs

Design registration can protect the visual appearance of products.

This can be relevant to technology products where the physical appearance or design is commercially important.

For example, a technology company may consider design protection for the appearance of a physical device or product.

Other forms of intellectual property

New Zealand’s intellectual property system also includes:

  • Plant variety rights

  • Geographical indications

Different forms of intellectual property protect different things.

It is therefore important for individuals and businesses to identify the appropriate type of protection for their particular intellectual property.

Why does IP matter to IT?

Intellectual property encourages innovation by allowing creators and businesses to protect and benefit from their work.

Without appropriate protection, competitors could potentially copy valuable innovations or creative material.

For example, an IT company might invest significant time and money into developing a new software product.

Intellectual property rights can help the business protect aspects of its work and establish ownership or control where the relevant legal requirements are met.

IP can therefore support:

  • Innovation

  • Investment

  • Creativity

  • Business growth

  • Brand recognition

  • Competitive advantage

  • Commercialisation

Intellectual property in software development

Software projects can involve several types of intellectual property at the same time.

For example, a technology company might have:

  • Copyright in its source code

  • A trade mark for its company name

  • A trade mark for its software product

  • Copyright in its website

  • Copyright in its graphics

  • Patents relating to qualifying inventions

  • Registered designs relating to product appearance

Developers should therefore understand that intellectual property is not limited to one type of protection.

A single IT project can contain multiple forms of IP belonging to different people or organisations.

Intellectual property and third-party content

IT professionals frequently use content, software and resources created by other people.

Examples include:

  • Open-source software

  • Stock images

  • Fonts

  • Software libraries

  • APIs

  • Icons

  • Music

  • Video

  • Website templates

  • Third-party code

Before using third-party material, professionals should check:

  • Who owns the intellectual property?

  • What type of IP protection applies?

  • Is permission required?

  • Is there a licence?

  • What does the licence allow?

  • Is attribution required?

  • Can the material be modified?

  • Can it be used commercially?

  • Can it be redistributed?

Using something because it is available online does not automatically mean that it can legally be copied or reused.

Māori intellectual property

Māori culture and traditional knowledge are an important part of New Zealand’s intellectual property landscape.

Mātauranga Māori is a broad body of knowledge originating from Māori ancestors.

It includes:

  • Māori world views

  • Māori perspectives

  • Creativity

  • Cultural practices

  • Te Reo Māori

  • Traditional knowledge

Intellectual property protection can help recognise and respect Māori culture and traditional knowledge while also helping prevent exploitation or inappropriate use.

The challenge of traditional knowledge

Traditional knowledge can be difficult to protect using conventional intellectual property systems.

Traditional knowledge may:

  • Be collectively held

  • Be passed between generations

  • Be connected to cultural identity

  • Have developed over long periods

  • Not have one identifiable individual owner

Conventional IP systems often focus on concepts such as individual or identifiable ownership, novelty and originality.

This can create challenges when applying standard intellectual property concepts to traditional knowledge.

Traditional knowledge may have significant cultural value even where conventional intellectual property law does not provide a straightforward form of protection.

Māori symbols, language and cultural material

Digital technology makes it easy to reproduce Māori words, images, symbols and cultural material.

However, accessibility does not automatically mean that use is appropriate.

Māori cultural elements can include:

  • Māori words and expressions

  • Whakapapa

  • Māori names

  • Iwi, hapū and marae names

  • Māori history

  • Cultural stories

  • Songs and dance

  • Toi Māori

  • Te Reo Māori

  • Taonga

  • Mātauranga Māori

IT professionals and digital content creators should therefore consider both the legal and cultural context before using Māori cultural material.

Māori considerations in trade marks

Trade mark applications containing Māori elements can receive cultural consideration.

New Zealand law prevents registration of a trade mark where its use or registration is likely to offend a significant section of the community, including Māori.

This means that businesses should consider cultural implications when developing brands, names and logos containing Māori elements.

Māori considerations in patents

Patent applications can also receive consideration where an invention is derived from Māori traditional knowledge or indigenous plants or animals.

This recognises that some inventions may involve knowledge or resources that have cultural significance.

Ethical use of Māori intellectual property

Technology professionals should be careful when using Māori cultural material in digital products.

Responsible practice can include:

  • Researching the cultural context

  • Avoiding inappropriate commercialisation

  • Acknowledging sources

  • Seeking appropriate guidance

  • Respecting tikanga

  • Considering collective interests

  • Avoiding unauthorised use of culturally significant material

This is important because intellectual property law and cultural responsibility are not always identical.

Something may not be clearly protected by conventional IP law while still being culturally significant and deserving of respect.

IP and innovation

Intellectual property rights help create an environment where people and organisations can invest in innovation.

For the IT sector, this is particularly important because software and technology products can require substantial investment in:

  • Research

  • Development

  • Testing

  • Design

  • Marketing

  • Infrastructure

  • Human resources

Protecting intellectual property can help organisations gain value from these investments.

For example, a technology company may spend significant resources developing a new product.

Appropriate IP protection can help the organisation establish and maintain its competitive position while allowing the creators or business to benefit from their work.

Intellectual property and business

Intellectual property can be an important business asset.

A company’s IP may contribute to:

  • Brand value

  • Competitive advantage

  • Revenue

  • Licensing opportunities

  • Investment

  • Business growth

  • Commercial partnerships

Businesses should therefore identify the intellectual property they create and use and understand who owns each relevant IP asset.

For IT businesses, this may include software, source code, websites, branding, designs and technical inventions.

Responsible IP practice

A responsible IT professional should consider intellectual property throughout the development process.

Good practice includes:

  • Creating original work

  • Checking ownership

  • Using appropriate licences

  • Obtaining permission where required

  • Keeping records of licences and permissions

  • Providing attribution where required

  • Respecting open-source licence conditions

  • Protecting business IP

  • Respecting Māori cultural material

  • Avoiding unauthorised copying or redistribution

Understanding intellectual property helps IT professionals avoid legal problems while also respecting the work of other creators.

Why is IP important in digital technology?

Digital technology allows information and creative works to be copied and distributed extremely quickly.

A single piece of software, image or digital design can potentially be reproduced thousands of times with very little effort.

This makes intellectual property particularly important in IT.

The ease of copying digital material does not remove the rights of the person or organisation that created it.

IT professionals therefore need to understand the difference between technical ability and legal permission.

Summary

Intellectual property rights protect different forms of innovation, creativity and commercial identity.

Trade marks can protect brands, patents can protect qualifying inventions, copyright can protect original creative works and registered designs can protect product appearance.

For IT professionals, understanding intellectual property is essential because digital projects often involve several types of IP.

Developers and organisations also need to understand the intellectual property rights and licence conditions associated with third-party software and content.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, responsible IP practice should also recognise Māori cultural values, mātauranga Māori and traditional knowledge.

Respectful use of Māori symbols, language and cultural knowledge requires consideration of both legal protection and cultural responsibility.

Responsible technology practice means protecting the rights of creators while also considering the cultural values and interests of the communities affected by digital technology.

References

Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. (n.d.). Get IP.

Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. (n.d.). Concepts to understand.

Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. (n.d.). Māori culture and intellectual property.

Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. (n.d.). Māori IP.