When “property” is brought up, tangible items come to mind. While it may be simple to understand the law when protecting what you physically own, understanding how to protect the intangible becomes a bit trickier. A Colorado intellectual property lawyer can provide you with invaluable legal guidance if you’re in the midst of an IP-related legal issue.
Intellectual property refers to creations that come from the mind. Although this doesn’t include facts about the world or things like mathematical formulas, it does include:
To protect your intellectual property, you should register it under the appropriate protections.
Before you register your intellectual property, it is useful to:
Your documentation needs to be accurate, concise, and complete. Anyone should be able to pick it up and understand your processes and reasoning. This will help prove that you own the idea, assets, and work involved.
If you know you will be doing business in another country, contact the corresponding IP authorities and register. This can save you time and money in the long run.
Hire a Denver intellectual property attorney for help with intellectual property law.
Intellectual property is protected by adequately registering patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets.
Patents protect original inventions. When inventors come up with and follow through on an idea, they preserve the time and effort they put in by filing for a patent. The three types of patents are design, utility, and plant patents.
Trade secrets are processes or practices of a company that are not generally known to those outside of the company. This information must carry some economic value and offer a competitive advantage to the company. Examples are formulas, designs, instruments, tools, practices, and processes.
To maintain and qualify as a trade secret, the company has to make reasonable efforts to protect it. If the information becomes public knowledge, it is no longer protected.
Copyright protects tangible works. It helps preserve the value of the owner’s work by giving them the ability to restrict the usage of their work. For something to be copyright protected, it must be original, tangible, and a work of authorship. Works of authorship encompass literary and artistic works, music, and many other creative works. Authors or owners should register with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Trademarks apply to recognizable designs that distinguish a product or service from another. These include, but are not limited to, sounds, words, colors, original fonts, symbols, and logos. Trademarks cover groups of products as well. Examples are the Instagram logo and the McDonald’s golden arches.
After using the proper channel to register your intellectual property, claiming and registering your business, product, and domain names is vital. Spending time working on your product only to have your name taken would be devastating. Research and ensure your desired name(s) are available for your product or company.
A: To legally protect intellectual property, you should start by correctly registering your IP. You must have the appropriate selection, whether it is a patent, copyright, trademark, or trade secret designation. Proper documentation to prove that you are the original and sole owner of your assets is crucial.
A: If you register your IP appropriately, keep your process or documentation a secret, monitor the channels you distribute in (as well as outside channels), and contact the appropriate authorities when necessary, you will do what you can to protect against the infringement of your intellectual property.
A: The four main ways that intellectual property is protected are through patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. While all of these deal with creations of the mind, they differ vastly. Always register your intellectual property appropriately.
Patents exclude others from making, selling, or using the invention without permission. Copyrights protect tangible literary, musical, artistic, and other intellectual works. Trademarks cover words, names, symbols, and sounds used to help distinguish products or services. Trade secrets protect information that gives a company a competitive economic advantage.
A: Intellectual property is an original creation from one’s own mind. Examples include inventions, literary and artistic works, names, images, logos, sounds, and symbols used in commerce. Patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets protect all these forms of intellectual property.
While protecting your intellectual property can be difficult, it is not impossible and doesn’t have to be daunting. By understanding the different types of intellectual property and the designated rights of each, you can take the necessary steps to protect your property. The qualified team at Four Reasons Legal can help you do so. Contact our team today to learn more about intellectual property protection and how we can help you.