Intellectual Property Case Study

949 Words2 Pages

Becoming a restaurant owner is a poor way of getting rich. Despite the long arduous hours, many restaurants barely turn a profit. Luckily, restaurateurs see it as a labor of love. It’s not a method to getting rich; it is a muse and a median for their creations. Unfortunately, if not carefully protected, those same creations can become their downfall through failure to abide by intellectual property law. The purpose of this paper is to understand intellectual property and how it relates to the restaurant industry.
Intellectual property is the product of creative thought. Intellectual property law establishes rules for the registration, administration, sale, licensing, and dispute resolution of intellectual property (Stim, 2017). By taking the necessary steps to claim
Many restaurant’s may have signature dishes, but the neither the recipes nor the names of the dishes may be directly protected. For a restauranteur to protect a signature dish, they must: (a) require employees to sign non-disclosure agreements to uphold the trade secret; (b) give the dish a unique name that can be allowed a trademark; (c) copyright any pictures or merchandise related to the signature dish; and (d) file a trade dress claim for the overall feel of the establishment (Collen, & Hilfer, 2011). In general, protecting a restaurant’s intellectual property is difficult, but not impossible. Therefore, it is important that restaurateurs learn the basics about intellectual property law.
Some restaurateurs invent new tools and gadgets in an effort to make existing processes more efficient. When this happens, it is important that they take the time to file a patent to secure the rights to their invention (Sanderson, 2013). A patent is form of intellectual property law used to protect an invention; regardless of use, patents last for 20 years (Newton,

Open Document