1. Purpose –

To describe the rights, roles and responsibilities of the iCake employees in relation to intellectual property. To protect the copyright of iCake business, website domain name, business name, and other business material.

And also, this policy will clear the right to use of materials which owned by other people and companies, the copyright for business software, apps, and music.

Management could register the domain name on godaddy which is the largest domain online registration website from $6.69 to have an own website.

Applying for an IP right to protect company idea can be critical if company wants to build a business and establish presence in a market.

This policy will clear the employer owns the IP created by an employee if it is related to the employer’s business, unless the employment contract stipulates otherwise.

  • Key practices that are prohibited or required by the law
  • Copyright

Under the Copyright Act 1968 it is an offence to:

knowingly import, possess, sell, distribute or commercially deal with an infringing copy

offer for sale infringing copies of computer programs

transmit a computer program to enable it to be copied when received.

Penalties include fines of up to $117 000 for individuals and up to $585 000 for corporations. The possible term of imprisonment is up to five years.

Australian copyright law is designed to encourage and protect those businesses which invest their time and talent in the creation of new material. Australia is also a signatory to a number of international conventions that deal with copyright.

Material is automatically protected by copyright in Australia under the legislative framework. No specific registration is required.

  • Music

The Australian Copyright Act (1968) gives songwriters and composers, music publishers, record labels and recording artists the right to control how their music is used. So whenever music or a music video is played and/or performed live, made available online or copied, the business authorising that music use almost always requires a licence.

  • Patent

A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention – a product or process that provides a new way of doing something, or that offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent provides patent owners with protection for their inventions. Protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years.

  • Domain name

A domain name is a unique internet site address that allows others to access your website. Internet addresses ending in ‘.au’ are registered in Australia and are administered and regulated by the .au Domain Administration (auDA).

To register for an .au domain, the domain name must be available and the business must meet auDA’s policy on domain name eligibility and allocation.

 

Rights and responsibilities of employees and employers

Employee:

  1. Have the responsibility to the legal requirement to apply for music license in cafe in terms of copyright.
  2. Obligated to register the company domain name and trademark and keep it updated to ensure that it is in the latest protected state.
  3. Have the responsibility to tell all staff why to protect the intellectual is important.

 

Employer:

  1. Employees have the right to review employment agreements.
  2. The employee must follow Intellectual Property policy
  3. Employees need to have an understanding of how to manage IP rights in the business.
  4. Employees can create new processes or design new products, software or new logos. Therefore, unless otherwise stated in the contract, the employer has intellectual property rights created by the employee.
  5. Employees need to understand how to manage intellectual property in their business. When employees create new things, they may not know that intellectual property still belongs to their employer.

 

 

  1. Scope / Application –

The policy applies to all iCake employees, the manager will take the responsibility to monitor and review this policy.

As the owner of intellectual property (IP) rights, iCake takes responsibility to ensure others enforce them.

iCake employees should comply with the policy and keep the iCake business material confidential.

The manager takes responsibility to check and review the performance of this policy.

 

  1. Definitions

All statutory and other proprietary rights – including rights to require information be kept confidential， in respect of inventions, copyright, trademarks, designs, patents, plant breeder’s rights, circuit layouts, know-how, trade secrets, data, materials, all rights to apply for the same and, for the avoidance of doubt, includes:

  1. a) Patents under the Patents Act 1990
  2. b) Copyright which subsists in original works under the Copyright Act 1968
  3. c) Trademarks registered under the Trade Marks Act 1995
  4. d) Designs registered under the Designs Act 2003
  5. e) Trade secrets and other confidential material under Common Law

Intellectual property (IP) and other intangible assets that relate to doing business include patents, trade marks, designs, and secret processes and formulae.

Australian IP law is designed to encourage innovation and protect businesses that develop original IP in order to have a competitive advantage. Australia is also a signatory to a number of international agreements that protect IP in other countries.

IP Australia is the Australian Government agency that administers IP rights and legislation.

Businesses can register a trade mark as a marketing tool. A registered trade mark provides legal protection that prevents others from using your brand. Trade marks are issued and protected nationally.

 

  1. Standards / SOPs / Procedures –

4.1  iCake employees must notify the IP Australia as early as possible of the anticipated creation of any work, product or process undertaken in the course of their employment, which may have commercial application.

4.2        Contact Information for the IP Australia is:

Email: media@ipaustralia.gov.au

Phone: 1300651010 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday)

Web: https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au

4.3        Notification must be made in writing, in the first instance, marked as ‘confidential’ and must identify:

the work, product or process in detail

each person involved in the creation of the work, product or process

the period in which the work, product or process was created

the research project or program in the course of which the work, product or process was created, and

any known details as to the likely commercial significance of the work, product or process.

4.4  The IP Australia may request further information if information provided in the initial notification is insufficient to manage potential IP.

4.5  Notifications are to occur whether employees are carrying out the work alone or with other iCake employees, or as part of a collaborative project with visitors or persons from other organisations.

4.6  In no circumstance are employees to take steps to apply for any registration of IP created in the course of their employment in their own name, the name of a company or any other person, unless the IP has been assigned to them by iCake.

4.7 iCake must pay a music licence fee to ABLIS to play any music to the public within the business area.

4.8 Owner of iCake should register the business name and company name on ASIC website. Register business costs $82 for 3 years or $35 for 1 year, and company registration cost $495. So both name will be protected by law.

4.9 iCake should clearly state the copyright on our website, business materials, and any other iCake belongs. To use of these materials must report to iCake management and get approved before using.

 

 

 

Intellectual Property and Security

All intellectual property developed by employees during their employment with iCake, including discoveries or inventions made in the performance of their duties related in any way to the business of iCake, will remain the property of iCake.

Employees may be given access to confidential information, data, business property, keys to premises or any other business-related property/information in the performance of their duties. This must be protected and used only in the interests of iCake.

Employees must not:

disclose or use any part of any confidential information outside of the performance of their duties and in the interests of iCake; or

authorise or be involved in the improper use or disclosure of confidential information;

during or after their employment without the Employer’s written consent, other than as required by law.

‘Confidential information’ includes any information in any form relating to iCake and related bodies, clients or businesses, which is not in the public domain.

Employees must act in good faith towards {Business Name} and must prevent (or if impractical, report) the unauthorised disclosure of any confidential information. Failure to comply with this policy may result in performance improvement proceedings including dismissal, and iCake may also pursue monetary damages or other remedies.

 

 

To protect the IP:

  1. Identify your IP
  2. Understand your options
  3. Keep it confidential
  4. Protect your idea or brand by registering it
  5. Be cautious in the commercialisation
  6. Track your costs
  7. Research your market
  8. Get business know-how
  9. Work out a commercialisation strategy
  10. Beware of infringement

 

 

  1. Dissemination / Distribution of the Policy

Manager must check and make sure staff comply with the policy on daily bases

Ongoing training and monitoring

The policy must be given to staff on the first-day induction, management must provide ongoing training on monthly bases, give staff feedback on the weekly conclusion

The policy will pass to staff in hard copy and explain to staff one by one at the staff meeting

On induction, show to the staff and demonstrate the details

 

 

  1. Monitoring and Reporting

An annual audit of the compliance of IP policy should be conducted annually at the end of financial by manager

Breaches of this policy will be investigated as potential breaches of iCake employment agreement, arrangements and actions taken according to outcomes from an investigation.

The police should be laminated and post on somewhere everyone can see and easy to reach, management should demonstrate, follow up and inspect the employees, to make sure all employees follow and comply the procedures.

The manager must check and make sure staff comply with the policy on daily bases

Record each staff compliance and write the performance in records

Manager on duty should take responsibility to make sure all staff understand and comply with the policy correctly

Keep IP report documents, copy of applying for TM, and communication emails when applying for IP

Keep all records for 5 years

Main consequences (penalties) of non-compliance

Copyright penalties include fines of up to $117 000 for individuals and up to $585 000 for corporations. The possible term of imprisonment is up to five years.

Domain name penalties for infringement of functional variable names are litigation and controversy. It also increases the legal cost of payment.

Trademarks penalties include up to five years imprisonment and fines of up to $99 000.

 

  1. Review

The policy needs to be checked and updated yearly

Review and update the policy at the end of the financial year to make sure the policy up to date and meet the latest IP regulation.

And action needs to be reviewed monthly at staff meeting to record any mistake.

 

The folder should be kept on-premise at all time and should be checked by the manager on quarterly bases to make sure everything up to date.

 

If any questions, please visit IP Australian website.