Knowing the basic laws surrounding the copyrighting, trademarking, or patenting of any concept or idea is an important step towards achieving entrepreneurial success. As any small business owner or entrepreneurial hopeful, grasping the concepts behind these three ownership bylaws will help to guide your focus towards the right direction. If you are an inventor, author, musician, or anyone else who produces original work of any sort, being aware of these three important ownership laws will help to ensure that all revenue generated through your tangible work will be yours.
Copyrighting Information
According to the U.S. Copyright office, a copyright exists as a "form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression." A copyright can be applied towards both published and unpublished works of any sort. A copyright can often times exist for the particular expression of a common procedure, but under no circumstances can a copyright directly reflect a method of operation, system, fact, or idea.
There are various ways a copyright can be obtained. For starters, any tangible creation that can be seen either through a machine or directly is automatically protected by a copyright the moment it comes into existence. Filling out official copyright forms to be verified by the U.S. copyright office is a procedure that is mainly required in the event of any lawsuit surrounding your tangible work or product. Applying for an official copyright certificate of registration is completely optional. Other than having your copyright recorded on public record, choosing to fill out the appropriate copyright forms within 5 years of publication will greatly strengthen your copyrights power in a court of law.
Different from a copyright, the only way to obtain a valid patent is through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. No patent exists until officially registered, regardless of its existence or creation.
There are various ways a copyright can be obtained. For starters, any tangible creation that can be seen either through a machine or directly is automatically protected by a copyright the moment it comes into existence. Filling out official copyright forms to be verified by the U.S. copyright office is a procedure that is mainly required in the event of any lawsuit surrounding your tangible work or product. Applying for an official copyright certificate of registration is completely optional. Other than having your copyright recorded on public record, choosing to fill out the appropriate copyright forms within 5 years of publication will greatly strengthen your copyrights power in a court of law.
Patent InformationA patent is a form of intellectual property protection that can be applied to any invention, process, machine, composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. Design patents exist to protect the intellectual property of a specific design or style of manufacture, while plant patents are put into place in the event of the creation of new strains of plant life.
Different from a copyright, the only way to obtain a valid patent is through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. No patent exists until officially registered, regardless of its existence or creation.
Trademarks and ServicemarksA trademark is essentially any word, name, symbol, or device that a business uses for customers to verify and distinguish their goods apart from that of other businesses or corporations. A servicemark is exactly the same thing as a trademark, but a servicemark specifies the source of the goods rather then referencing the product itself. A general understanding of trademarks will prove extremely valuable when working towards creating an LLC or becoming incorporated as these legal matters will help to protect any logo or branding symbol that your corporation uses to represent itself.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete