What is IP?

There are three distinct types of property that you or your business can own:

• Real property such as your house, land, etc.
• Personal property such as your car, furniture, stock portfolio, etc.
• Intellectual property.  Some examples are the book, music, or    songs that you wrote, your art, your plans, your processes, your inventions, and your information. IP may or may not be proprietary, and IP may be open to the public or a closely-held secret. Basically, “Intellectual Property,” or IP, is the result of your creative efforts put into a tangible form.  Intellectual Property law protects your creative efforts. Generally, the areas that comprise IP law are trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets.

Do I have any intellectual property?

As a creative person or business, it’s pretty safe to say, YES, you have lots of intellectual property!
Dispelling the ‘name game’ confusion — So what is what?

Here’s a brief overview of the four main types of IP:

Trademark

You are dealing with a trademark when you are talking about people knowing where the product or service they are looking for or purchasing comes from.   Simply stated, this is your brand, and why and how people find or decide to use you or your products or services instead of those of others.  It is what can be referred to in marketing as the “know, like and trust” factor.

A trademark is broadly defined as a word, name, slogan, symbol or design used to identify or distinguish goods or services and to indicate their source. You gain trademark rights by actually using the trademark, regardless of whether you register it. Registration, however, provides significant benefits, particularly if there is infringement of your mark.

Copyright

When thinking of copyright, think creative original works – books, songs, plays, jewelry, movies, sculptures, paintings, photographs, choreography, software, etc. etc. And don’t think it has to be a major work-marketing materials, advertising copy and cartoons are also protectable. No judgement is made about the literary or artistic quality of the work! But while the old “eye of the beholder” adage is certainly apropos here, there are a few caveats as to what can’t actually be protected – ideas, methods, and processes are not protectable by copyright, nor are titles, names, short phrases list or ingredients. However, the expression of an idea, method or process may be protectable by a patent (more below) or the name or short phrase may qualify for trademark protection, as discussed above.

Copyright protection exists automatically from the time you put your expression into a tangible form. Copyright as a legal concept gives you the exclusive right to do certain things with your work – you can make, sell or distribute copies, prepare derivative works (meaning creating new works using some or all of the original work), and perform and display the work publicly. Similar to trademarks, while registration of your copyright is not required, doing so definitely has its benefits.

Patents

Stated very simplistically, patents protect inventions. While usually more technical in nature, this is not always the case. There are three main types of patents: utility patents, which are the most common type of patent and cover useful inventions (like the typewriter, the automobile, and new drugs); design patents, which cover new, original, and ornamental designs for articles (such as furniture and clothing); and plant patents, which cover new and distinct plant varieties (such as orchids, roses or any other hybrid flower or tree). There is also what’s known as a “business method patent” to protect specific ways of doing business (think the on-line one-click shopping cart) and there are provisional patents-these can offer protection in certain circumstances while you are figuring things out with your invention.

Keep in mind that patent protection is only available for useful, novel and non-obvious inventions. So you can’t merely add something to an existing product or make an insignificant alteration and get patent protection. Additionally, there are some things that just cannot be protected by patent, such as scientific principles. Patents last for either 14 or 20 years and are meant to incentivize inventors to disclose their invention for the public good in exchange for an exclusive, limited time to exploit their invention,

Trade Secrets

Unlike patents where full disclosure is required, trade secrets are just that, secret (shhhhh!). Generally, if you have valuable information that would be of some benefit or provide an advantage to a competitor, then you have trade secrets. There is no limit to the type of information that can be protected as a trade secret – recipes, marketing plans, methods of doing business – can all constitute protectable trade secrets. Think the secret formula for Coca-Cola® or the Colonel’s secret recipe! Your trade secret doesn’t have to be unique or complex – your list of customers can be a trade secret, as long as it is not common knowledge and gives you an advantage over your competitors.

There is no formality to how to protect a trade secret, but you must take reasonable efforts to keep your information secret. Disclosure of your trade secrets should be limited, and should require the signing of a non-disclosure agreement.

Does my intellectual property need protection?

Yes!  Whatever advantage your intellectual property gives you over your competition should be protected.  Whether it is the foundation, driving force, or integral part of your business, protection and management of your Intellectual Property ensures you maintain that advantage.

Use the power your IP gives you to grow your business! Maximize its potential by using IP law to gain or maintain the fullest benefit, and ensure that YOUR IP always serves YOU or YOUR business – not your competition’s!

Now that you know you have it, don’t lose it!

Protect Your IP and use it to grow your business!

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