{"id":757,"date":"2017-02-22T19:49:11","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T19:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/?p=757"},"modified":"2017-02-22T19:49:32","modified_gmt":"2017-02-22T19:49:32","slug":"intellectual-property-protection-certification-organizations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/22\/intellectual-property-protection-certification-organizations\/","title":{"rendered":"Intellectual Property Protection for Certification Organizations"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Richard Bar, Esq., Partner, GKG Law<\/em><\/p>\n

Credentialing organizations have unique intellectual property issues that do not apply to other non-profits. First, they have to protect the name of their credential from competitors and non-certified individuals. Second, they need to protect their credentialing examinations from people who want to compromise the security of the exam. An unprotected certification mark or a compromised examination can destroy the value of a credential.\u00a0 However, many credentialing organizations are not aware of the best way to protect these assets.<\/p>\n

All federally registered trademarks are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the \u201cUSPTO\u201d). \u00a0The term \u201ctrademark\u201d is often used to describe any mark that promotes a service or product. In actuality, there are several different types of marks.\u00a0 A \u201ctrademark\u201d is a mark used to promote a product (i.e., Kleenex); a \u201cservice mark\u201d is used to promote a service (i.e., JiffyLube); and a \u201ccollective mark\u201d is owned by a collective, whose members use the mark to: (i) distinguish their goods and services from non-members; and (ii) indicate membership in the group (i.e., AAA Member). There also is a fourth type of mark known as a \u201ccertification mark\u201d.\u00a0 A certification mark is different than a typical trademark, because it is owned by the certifying body but used by certified individuals (i.e., CAE). In essence, certified individuals are granted a revocable license to use the certification mark.\u00a0 Additionally, a certification mark indicates that a product or service meets an established standard.<\/p>\n

Federal certification mark registration has several benefits.\u00a0 Registration creates a legal presumption that the registrant is the owner of the mark.\u00a0 Additionally, it gives the registrant the ability to bring an infringement action in federal court.\u00a0 \u00a0However, many organizations are either unaware of this type of mark, or confuse certification marks with collective membership marks. If a certification mark is improperly registered as a collective membership mark, the mark may be cancelled.\u00a0 Improper registration will therefore make it difficult for an organization to protect the credential from infringers. Therefore, in order to create value and maintain the integrity of a certification, organizations must make sure that their credentials are properly registered as certification marks with the USPTO.<\/p>\n

Test security also is a constant concern for certification organizations.\u00a0 Even the most secure tests can be compromised and exploited. Federal copyright registration has several benefits. A copyright registration puts people on notice that the organization owns the examination and gives the organization the right to obtain statutory damages from the infringer.\u00a0 The copyright owner is also eligible for court costs and attorneys\u2019 fees in addition to any damage award.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Copyright Office (the \u201cCopyright Office\u201d) has a special secure test registration process to ensure that an exam remains protected. While the Copyright Office usually requires an owner to deposit a complete copy of the copyrighted work, it does not require a complete copy of a secure test.\u00a0 Instead, a representative of the organization must make an appointment with the Copyright Office and bring a copy of the certification test with her.\u00a0 The Copyright Office then will review the application and exam materials.\u00a0 Once this review is complete, the Copyright Office will only take the first and last page of the exam as a deposit, therefore, ensuring the security of the test material.<\/p>\n

A certification organization\u2019s credentials and examinations are two of its most important assets.\u00a0 It is, therefore, imperative that each organization know how to properly protect this intellectual property against infringers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Richard Bar is a Principal of GKG Law, P.C. in Washington D.C.\u00a0 Mr. Bar has been practicing law for more than 30 years.\u00a0 He is outside General Counsel to more than 50 tax-exempt organizations with a specific focus on the representation of credentialing bodies.\u00a0 He is a frequent speaker and author.\u00a0 You can contact Mr. Bar directly at rbar@gkglaw.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Richard Bar, Esq., Partner, GKG Law Credentialing organizations have unique intellectual property issues that do not apply to other non-profits. First, they have to protect the name of their credential from competitors and non-certified individuals. Second, they need to protect their credentialing examinations from people who want to compromise the security of the exam…. View Article<\/a>","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[103,78,106,104,105],"class_list":["post-757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-regulatory-power","tag-copyright","tag-examination","tag-intellectual-property","tag-registration","tag-trademark"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":758,"href":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions\/758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proftesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}