| Copyrights and Trademarks are often the result of hard work and are a valuable piece of any business. The following overview should give you a basic understanding of what they are and how you can protect them.
Trademarks & Servicemarks
What is a Trademark?
A trademark is a name, symbol, word, phrase, design, etc., used in connection with goods (trademark) or services (servicemark) in order to indicate the source of the good and to distinguish it from other sources.
Selecting your Mark.
From a marketing perspective, your mark should be easy to remember, say, and spell. You must also ensure that your chosen mark does not infringe on another pre-existing mark. Infringement occurs when a new mark so resembles a preexisting mark as to cause confusion, mistake, or deception.
Protecting your Mark.
Your mark is your brand and you have already or will go through a lot to establish your brand. Another confusingly similar mark would weaken your brand. The easiest way to protect your mark is by registration.
Registration is available at the state and federal level. Where you register depends upon where you market or plan to market your product or service. For purely local services/products, state registration may be sufficient, but it will not protect your mark beyond the state’s borders.
Registration puts all others on notice that a mark is yours, and will allow you to pursue monetary damages in court for trademark infringement of your mark. Monetary damages are not available if your mark is not registered.
Register your Mark.
Adams Law Office can register your trademark for a flat fee. National trademarks are registered with the U.S. government at the USPTO (U.S. Patent & Trademark Office) at www.uspto.gov, by filing an application with supporting materials and paying the filing fee. Final registration hinges upon the actual approval.
For State Registration, visit the Secretary of State and fill out the appropriate form and provide a specimen of the mark.
Copyright
What is a Copyright?
Copyright denotes the collection of rights that are born from original works of authorship: the exclusive rights to distribute, copy, create derivative works from the original, and perform the copyrighted work.
Any of the exclusive rights mentioned above can be bought and sold. Such a voluntary transfer must be put down in writing to be enforceable. A transfer of something less than the exclusive right is a license. For example, when you download a song from iTunes, you have purchased a license to the song and do not own a right to copy, sell, or distribute that song.
What is Copyrightable?
An author’s original expression of an idea is copyrightable, but the idea itself is not. Additionally, the expression must be recorded in some tangible form such as writings, sculpture, digital media, films, etc.
How do you protect your Copyright?
Copyrights do not last forever. Their duration depends upon when they were created. A new copyright can last for the duration of the author’s life plus 70 years.
Similar to trademarks, registration is available but not required. However, registration is a prerequisite to an infringement suit of unpublished works, or to an award for attorney fees and statutory damages.
Register your Copyright.
In order to register your copyright, visit the Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov, fill out the appropriate form for you work, and pay the applicable fee.
In Conclusion
Trademarks, servicemarks, and copyrights are valuable business assets and registration is a relatively simple and affordable way to protect them.
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