A Small Business Guide to Intellectual Property Protection

You’ve made it! You’ve invented a unique idea no business has ever thought of. Now, all you need is protection from people who might use it for their gain. Intellectual property protection comes in.

An intellectual property (IP) is an intangible asset legally owned and protected by an individual or a business entity from external use without permission. IP covers anything that isn’t physical, such as creativity, ideas, and innovations.

The principle behind intellectual property protection derives from the fact that all the human mind creates should be protected the same way as tangible assets. Just like physical property, ideas can be stolen by anyone, so it’s only suitable to protect them at all costs.

In this article, you’ll discover everything you need to know about intellectual property protection. Read on to learn more.

What are the types of intellectual property protection?

Intellectual property protection comes in different types, such as copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Below is a simple discussion to help you understand what makes them different from each other.

• Copyright

Copyright provides creators exclusive rights to their original creations. This protects many materials, including paintings, movies, advertising copies, songs, books, and even software applications.

The exclusive rights of creators under the copyright law include:

• Exclusive distribution of the original creation
• Exclusive duplication of the original creation
• Exclusive performance and display of the original creation

However, it’s essential to understand that copyright laws only apply to tangible assets. Therefore, once an intangible concept has been made physical, copyright protection will be applied immediately.

Although copyright registration isn’t always required, doing so can give you great benefits you can enjoy. These include:

• Your creations will be publicly listed as original, copyrighted works.
• You’ll be able to file copyright-infringement lawsuits against those who might copy, use, or duplicate your work without your permission.
• You’ll be entitled to statutory damages, rangingfrom USD$750 to USD$30,000.

Copyright registration is relatively easy to complete. All you need to do is fill out the application form, pay the necessary fee, and submit a copy of your creation to the U.S Copyright Office (USCO). Filing copyright online is advisable if you want to save time and money.

• Patent

Like copyright, a patent provides creators absolute ownership to protect their original inventions from unauthorized use, selling, and distribution for a limited time. Depending on the material to be patented, the expiration may extend up to 20 years.

Aside from absolute ownership, filing a patent may award you other exclusive rights, such as:

• You have the right to claim damages due to infringement. This may apply to any patented material as long as the infringer’s material is substantially similar to yours.
• You have the right to sell and manufacture your original invention as long as you want.
• You have the right to legally grant a license to a third-party company to use, sell, manufacture, and benefit from your original invention.

Here are some of the most famous patents in history:

• The Light Bulb:This historical patent was granted to Sir Thomas Edison in 1878.
• The Television:The patent for the first-ever television was awarded to Philo Farnsworth in 1930.
• The Internal Combustion Engine:This landmark achievement was patented in 1823 under the ownership of Samuel Brown. Without his invention, there would be no vehicles today.

If you want to patent an invention in the future, consider filing a provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This gives you an additional year to process everything before formally filing one.

• Trademark

A trademark is an insignia, word, symbol, or phrase that legally represents and distinguishes your product from other companies. A good example is Coca-Cola, trademarked as ‘Coca-Cola’ and written in script letters.

Below are the things you can file a trademark for.

• The name of your business
• The name of your product
• The logo or label of your company or products
• The sound your company uses
• The design or symbol your company uses

However, remember that registering for a trademark doesn’t guarantee immediate protection. The protection starts once a mark is used in the market to distinguish your products and services. Below are the different types of trademark protection.

• Common Law Protection: If you’re using a mark but never try to register it, you may be qualified for common law trademark protection. This protects your mark as long as you can prove that you have used it before.
• State Protection:This protects your mark from unauthorized use within your business’s state. Keep in mind that this doesn’t provide nationwide protection. Other companies from different states may still use your mark without facing legal charges.
• Federal Protection:This provides nationwide protection and begins when you use your mark. For federal trademark protection, you’ll need to visit USPTO (online or offline) and file a trademark.

How long does a trademark last? The answer depends on the type of protection your mark currently has.

• Common law trademark protection may last as long as you use your mark in commerce. However, you may lose this protection if you cannotimpose your rights in public.
• State trademark protection may last,depending on the state where your business operates. Also, the requirements to file one may vary from one state to another.
• Federal trademark protection may last for tenyears but is renewable for another 10 years.

How can you protect your intellectual property?

You can protect your intellectual property by not sharing your ideas with anyone, especially if you haven’t filed them for protection yet.

But if you’ve already filed for protection and see someone using your ideas without consent, you may send them a cease-and-desist letter to ask them to stop what they’re doing. If they persist, you may talk to your lawyer and file a lawsuit against the infringer.

Final words

Intellectual property protection gives you absolute ownership of your original creation or invention. This means you’re the only one with the right to use, copy, duplicate, manufacture, or sell your creation. So, if you have a brilliant idea you want to protect, apply for a patent, copyright, or trademark to prevent others from stealing and using it for their gain.