intellectual-property, finance, patentI know from experience and some cursor research that companies such as S&P, Dow Jones, and MSCI, license their index methodologies to ETF sponsors. As such, as a hypothetical example, you may have a Vangaurd S&P 500 ETF, and a BMO S&P 500 ETF, and everyone is happy, since both Vanguard and BMO license the S&P 500 Index from S&P: S&P gets two slices of pie (vis-a-vis two license agreements), and Vanguard and BMO get new products to sell to the investing public.
Say I have an idea for a great new stock index. Does that fall under the category of Patent? Is it Intellectual Property? I’m having a hard time distinguishing between the two; the IP would be the idea, but the Patent would be the process.
In general, can any financial product be patented? On one hand it is a product, but on the other it is a process (e.g. a lending product ultimately has some underlying process to support the product).
I am based in Canada, but would also wish to take the necessary steps to protect this idea in the US, EU, and other countries, in the future.
Say I have an idea for a great new stock index. Does that fall under the category of Patent?
Probably not. I mean, it’s possible that you might revolutionize the mathematics of calculating an average. But probably not.
Is it Intellectual Property?
Absolutely, it could be a very valuable trademark. Anyone could create an index fund that mimics the DJIA and call it something like “The Big US 30 Fund.” (I have seen products like this.) However there is a lot more value in using the universally-recognized trademark “Dow Jones Industrial Average” to describe your product. The IP here is the trademark, not a patent.
it is a process (e.g. a lending product ultimately has some underlying process to support the product).
Not so much. Lending money (even in fancy ways) is pretty obvious. More importantly, the way finance is done is pretty strictly regulated by law, so even if you did think of some revolutionary new financial product, you probably couldn’t market it.
I am based in Canada, but would also wish to take the necessary steps to protect this idea in the US, EU, and other countries, in the future.
That’s cool. There are all types of international agreements to help you out with your trademarks.
That being said, if you did start the “US Big 30 Fund,” you still might get some intimidating legal letters or even a law suit. But if you have enough money to lawyer-up, you’ll probably be fine.
This is not legal advice. I am not an attorney.
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