Intellectual Property
Many National Science & Engineering Competition entrants have discovered, designed or created something brand new. These ideas could be protected by Intellectual Property!
Intellectual Property (IP) such as patents, trade marks, design and copyright allows creators to protect their ideas and gain value from them.
Under18s have the same IP rights as adults and students taking part in the National Science & Engineering Competition can be reassured that all the judges are prevented from infringing competitors' IP.
Below are some helpful hints:
- IP will be most common for projects in the Engineering/Technology stream but may also relate to some Science/Maths projects
- Students working on projects that have been set by another organisation will probably find that the IP belongs to the organisation - but they should check to be clear
- Students undertaking projects need to be very careful not to infringe others' IP (eg using others' music to accompany online media clips without a licence)
You can find out more from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) website or you can open the IPO's Intellectual Property Explained booklet.
Date Published: July 26, 2011