The ways of the monetization of intellectual property in Internet projects

According to the studies carried out by the Egor Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, the volume of the electronic sales in Russia will grow up to 2.78 trillion roubles by 2024.[1] The foreign colleagues are even more optimistic and they predict an increase up to 3.49 trillion roubles.[2] To justify the continuous growth and popularization of the trade in the Internet segment is quite simple: buying and selling with the use of virtual space is convenient both for the buyer, who saves the money and time, while getting access to an unlimited range of products, and for the seller, who avoids the costs for renting retail spaces, the wages of sellers, etc. For the above reasons, the industry development is implemented with an impressive speed, thereby stimulating the attraction of intellectual resources and the implementation of innovation in the e-commerce field.

In order to determine the ways to gain profits from the use of the subject matters of intellectual property in Internet projects, it is worth analyzing the functions that are implemented as a result of these actions. Depending on a purpose of the use, it is possible to distinguish:

• The results of the intellectual activity, which are designed to ensure the operation and full functioning of websites. These include IT technologies for defending the personal data, keeping the information, the programs for electronic computing machines that ensure the ability of making financial transactions through electronic networks, etc.
• The subject matters of intellectual property that are designed to attract the attention of consumers to products and a virtual store. The electronic markets, like the traditional ones, are crowded with homogeneous products, and therefore the growth of the consumer activity is a key to success and a goal, which selling firms aspire to.
• The creative labour results, which rights to the use are directly the sale subject matters, which are represented on the websites.

If we consider the monetization of the subject matters of intellectual property from the point of view of the branches of the law, then the spheres of the copyright, related and patent rights, as well as manufacturing secrets may be referred to them:

• The subject matters of the copyright and the related rights are one of the most useful resources in the electronic environment. Movies, songs, videos, books – consumers acquire readily an opportunity to get acquainted with the works of their favorite writers, singers or actors. In addition, it is important to remember that the field of the copyright includes the programs for electronic computing machines, thanks to which electronic devices function.
• The patent industry can be considered a repository of the solutions capable of bringing income to their creator. The invention embodied in life can become a product sold in an online store. Various equipment for computers, as well as software, may be subject to the patent law. In addition, it is worth mentioning the means of individualization that are actively used to promote the products at the economic markets.
• Nominally, the manufacturing secrets are not the subject matters of the monetization in the Internet projects, however, along with the means of individualization, they play an indirect role in increasing the profits from the e-commerce, for example, in the case of the sale of the products manufactured with the use of the manufacturing secrets.

The examples of the monetization of intellectual property in Internet projects

Discussing gaining benefits from using the results of the intellectual activity and the means of individualization, it should be noted that the dependence on these subject matters can be both direct, in the case of the sale of the book in an electronic format, and indirect, for example, with an increase in demand for the product, since the moment, when the buyers has identified it thanks to a well-known trademark.

An excellent example of the monetization of intellectual property in the Internet projects can be an example of the trading company “Sozvezdie Krasoty,” whose interests Zuykov and Partners have happened to represent. The range of the electronic store of the above company, in addition to the various skin care products, includes the devices designed for machine cosmetology, which are the results of the intellectual activity patented in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, what is informed directly to all visitors of the website by the company.

There are also a large number of different Internet projects for the sale of book editions, movies, songs and audiovisual works. So, any willing may buy a printed or electronic version of any of the books published by the publishing house on the website of the publishing house “MIF.”

As to the promotion of the websites through the use of the means of individualization, then, among other things, it is advisable for the electronic stores to obtain a domain name being similar to the word element of the trademark used. This is how the well-known manufacturer of dairy products, the company Danon, did, having registered the domain website danone.ru in its name.