You must have heard about the term property law. What comes to your mind when you hear this term? What is property law all about? You would relate it to your rights on your property? Exactly so; it governs different forms of tenancy and ownership rights on your real and personal property, as set by the legal system. In terms of law there is a difference between real and personal property. Anything that is immovable or static is your real property or real estate and anything that has a motion or is movable is regarded as your personal property like cars, furniture, jewellery, clothing, artwork, writings or household items.
In Australia the property law includes prioritising interests, rights and responsibilities of the individuals in regards to ownership or possession of an object. In the western property law, mostly the Australian Property Law focuses predominantly on land. This is due to higher value of land as compared to other kinds of property. Each and every state in Australia has its own regime for the bureaucratisation and regulations for land.
Apart from land, property law also includes regulations for Personal properties which include goods and chattels. This can be further divided under tangible and intangible property. There is another interesting segment that is the Intellectual property law. This law legally recognises and gives you exclusive rights to the creations of your mind. This right covers a selection of intangible assets such as literary, music, inventions and discoveries, artistic creation, brands and designs. You should be able to manage your Intellectual Property assets critically if you wish to establish yourself in the market. Some types of Intellectual Property might need you to fill in certain forms and clear some examinations to register. Intellectual property law commonly covers designs, patents, plant breeder’s rights and trade marks in Australia.
These different kinds of Intellectual rights reduce the possibility of your services and products being imitated by your competitor or rival trader.These intellectual rights are valuable assets and can be an addition in your balance sheet. They are of immense value and can be bought, sold, transferredand licensed as well. These rights have various attributes, like you get an exclusive right on your property so that no one else can make copies of it, but it is restricted to a time frame. For example a standard patent lasts for 20 years, copyrights last for 70 years and designs lasts for 10 years. For Trade Marks renewal fees needs to be paid every 10 years to keep it in force.
There are means through which you can make complete use of the Intellectual Property right. You need to make out an comprehensive strategy to exploit and protect your Intellectual property. You should also combine the all the registered and unregistered rights together to enhance the security of your intellectual property. If you wish to avail a patent or a design right, you need to keep your designs and inventions guarded. If you print your design in a magazine or anywhere else and then apply for the right on your design, you may not get it as it does not remain new anymore.