The three areas that intellectual property law in the United States protects are copyright, trademark and patent. Many people confuse the three and, in particular, copyright and trademark. Patents are the most different amongst the group, so we will start there.
For patents, think of inventors and their inventions. The inventions have to be new, useful and non-obvious to qualify for protection. They do not have to be groundbreaking, as, for example, the common shape of paperclips once qualified for patent protection. Patents cover machines, designs (the process to build something, for example) and even plants (when someone discovers a way to produce a new variety of plant).
For copyrights, think of artists and authors. Copyrights protect original creations like songs, paintings, novels, plays and anything else along these lines. You do not have to register them, although that is an option. If you created it originally, you own the copyright to it. Unlike patents, copyrights do not protect subject matter; they protect the form. So, for example, a copyright on the instructions to build a sewing machine would prevent others from copying your words, but the copyright would not prevent others from just building the machine themselves. A patent would be necessary for that.
For trademarks, think logos and names that identify a product. The apple logo is one famous trademark. The trademark lets consumers know what company (and thus what reputation) is behind a product that they are considering purchasing. If you have the rights to a trademark (the Patent and Trademark Office handles registrations for trademarks), you can prevent others from using trademarks that are too similar to yours. Others can sell the same kind of products, they just cannot use a mark that misleads consumers into thinking that it is a product from you.
These areas of intellectual property law are essential for protecting your products and ideas. How have you relied on intellectual property protections to benefit your business?
Klein Trial Lawyers – Los Angeles business litigation attorneys