The 5 Main Types of Intellectual Property Protection

Entrepreneurs need to understand the basics of intellectual property (IP) law in order to protect their ideas and creations from unfair competition. Intellectual property protection refers to the legal rights granted to protect distinctive items that offer an economic benefit that an individual, group, or organization has created. That includes literary and artistic symbols, names, inventions, and images created by the mind.

Protecting Against Infringement

Infringement is the unauthorized use of intellectual property. Intellectual property protection makes the owner’s rights more apparent to competitors who might violate them. It also offers legal benefits by allowing the owner to file a case for infringement. Find professional help from an intellectual property attorney to prevent the theft of your concepts, designs, and ideas. Learn how you can protect your property with Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents, Trade Secrets, and Trade Dress.

5 Ways to Protect your Intellectual Property

Trademarks

A trademark is a distinctive symbol, design, or a word that distinguishes the source of a service or product of a business from its competitors. It establishes in the mind of the consumer a link between the different supplies and services offered by the company, differentiating their products from the competing companies. Trademark protects the designs, phrases, name, symbols, or the logo of your business so no one can infringe that right. Trademarking your logo and other items means that your competitors cannot use them.

You get exclusive rights to use a sign by registering a trademark. Although trademarks do not necessarily require the approval of the government, it is possible to get superior protection if the affected party files an application with the right government office. You must have a clear representation of the sign to apply, and an identification of the class of your supplies and services. The renewal terms of trademarks are 10 years. Filing a trademark application is complicated and thus the reason most applicants choose to hire a trademark attorney.

Patents

A patent is used to protect an inventive idea or process. It is an exclusive right given to the inventor to prevent others from using the creation without their permission. Certain industries such as the pharmaceuticals rely heavily on patents as compared to the others. For instance, a pharmaceutical company cannot protect their investment without patents. The lack of a patent could result in another company manufacturing a replica of their drug. In this case, the patent holder can choose to take legal action against anyone who uses the patented discovery, design, or invention.

Should a company deem their invention unique enough for patent protection; they may opt to prepare their provisional or non-provisional applications. The preparation of such applications requires several tweaks before the prosecution stage. Patent protection must be filed within 12 months of releasing it publicly. Usually, the outside counsel manages the process and handles docketing activities. This includes managing paperwork and filing deadlines. Due to the complexity of the process, US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recommends hiring a qualified patent attorney. Patents are classified into 3 categories, including utility, design, and plant patents.

• Utility Patents: These refer to the functional aspect of the protected patent. Here, the subject may involve the process, machines, or compound. These are further categorized into chemical, mechanical, electronic, or software, depending on the invention.
• Plant Patent: These patents protect a variety of plants. It should have the ability to reproduce through asexual reproduction.
• Design Patent: These protect the appearance, configuration, or the shape of an object. The design must be an integral part of the object.

Trade Secret

A trade secret is a valuable and confidential information which is not publicly known but gives a competitive edge to a company. These could include client lists, business plans, computer algorithms, and ideas related to cycle and research. Trade secrets are not registered with any government body, meaning they are not covered by any statutory provisions. The protection conferred on trade secrets varies from one country to the other.

Although there is an existing doctrinal discussion concerning the protection of trade secrets, it still does not receive protection from intellectual property rights. Disclosure is done under a nondisclosure agreement. Should the trade secret be misappropriated, the information holder must prove in the court of law that the trade secret is valuable and uniquely theirs.

The steps taken to keep the confidential information a secret must also be proved. Because trade secret law protects the misappropriation of trade secret details, a nefarious act must accompany the information’s acquisition. This means that the inventor can sue an impersonator for misappropriation of their trade secret. Should the court find no nefarious act accompanying the acquisition, wrongful appropriation is ruled out. This protection is not optimal for software or mechanical products, given that both rely on a user interface which can be reverse-engineered.

Copyrights

Copyrights protect original authorship of artists, composers, and creators. This is a monopolistic right that gives exclusive rights to publish, sell, and reproduce architectural, musical, literary, and artistic work. Works covered by copyrights are many, including stories, poems, magazines, music, computer programs, choreography, drawings, videos, databases, architecture, and sculpture, among others. This type of intellectual property only covers tangible things and not ideas. With this protection, certain exceptions give owners exclusive rights of modifying, performing, displaying, and distributing of the work. Because copyrights are territorial rights, requirements vary from one country to another.  

Trade Dress

This is a lesser-known form of intellectual property. It is tied closely to trademarks, and like trade secrets, you cannot register trade dress although it is still a form of IP. The design, appearance, and the packaging of products are unique to every brand. Trade dress features during litigation to stop other organizations from selling their products in your style of packaging.

Trademarks, copyrights, trade secret, and patents are the four main legal tools. However, trade dress can also be used to help protect your intellectual property legally to enable you to maintain a competitive edge over your competitors so hire a credible trademark attorney, patent lawyer, trade secret lawyer, and a copyright lawyer. However, most attorneys handle all of them. Your attorney should help you understand the IP you need to protect, submit the application, and address violations.