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Table of typical types of Intellectual Property (“IP”) that may
be registered with the United States Government
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Patent
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Trademark
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Copyright
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Typical Uses |
Uses the legal system to prevent or stop another party from
making, using, offering for sale, or selling an invention that is
claimed in an issued United States patent
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Uses the legal system to prevent or stop others from using a
similar name in the marketplace in a way that is likely to confuse
consumers
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Uses the legal system to prevent or stop unauthorized copying of
certain types of works
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What does it cover?
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Used to register and protect ideas;
new and useful processes;
machines;
manufactures;
composition of matters;
any new and useful improvement of the above;
computer software;
business methods;
consumer gadgets.
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Names or symbols applied to goods or services which have the
purpose of identifying the source of the goods or services.
Trademarks and service marks help the consumer to distinguish goods
or services that come from different sources.
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Used to protect the labor that you put into creating various
works of art:
literary works;
musical works, including any accompanying words, lyrics;
dramatic works, including any accompanying
music;
pantomimes and choreographic works;
pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
sound recordings; and
architectural works;
source code (but not the ideas behind the code).
Copyrights do
not protect ideas, procedures, processes, systems,
methods of operation, concepts, principles, or discoveries.
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How is it registered
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By submitting a detailed specification of your idea (with formal
drawings) along with claims that identify your invention as a patent
application to the U.S. Patent Office. The patent is not enforceable
until the Patent Office approves, but you publicly announce that you
are patent pending.
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By submitting an application to register the mark with the U.S.
Trademark Office. Be careful of others using similar names or
symbols.
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After creating a work and memorializing the work (paper, hard
drive, etc.), submitting the work and the appropriate forms to the
U.S. Copyright Office.
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Identified by
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Issued Patents
Patent No. #,###,###
Pat. No. #,###, ###
Non-issued Patents
Patent Pending
Pat. Pend.
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™
®
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©
All rights reserved
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Real World Examples
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U.S. Patent No. 174,465 (Alexander Graham Bell’s Telephone)
U.S. Patent No. 7,345,671 (iPod)
U.S. Patent No. 7,024,381 (NetFlix)
U.S. Patent No. 223898 (Thomas Edison’s Light Bulb)
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Coca-Cola®
Google™
Aspirin®
Dell™
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Star Wars (Series of Films)
Pink Floyd-The Wall (Album)
Harry Potter (Series of Books)
The Simpsons (Television Program)
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Some other types of intellectual property include trade secrets,
employer/employee agreements, contracts, rights in one’s image or persona,
etc.
What is the difference between a patent and a trademark?
Primarily, patents protect ideas whereas trademarks protect the public
from being confused as to the source of goods or services.
Any new and useful idea can be patented – including a novel combination
of old technologies. The classic example is: if pencils are old and erasers
are old and you are the very first person to put an eraser on the end of a
pencil, that combination is patentable. Novel business methods are now
patentable. A business method is a way to make money regardless of the
underlying “widget” technology. For most of our clients, business method
protection is their broadest form of patent protection. Typically, patent
protection lasts about 20 years, after which the ideas become public
knowledge.
A trademark is any mark or symbol that identifies and distinguishes a
product or service from other products and services on the market.
Trademarks typically identify the origin of the product, create an image of
consistent quality, and create consumer loyalty (known as goodwill).
Trademark protection remains in force as long as a business continues to use
the trademark in connection with their particular good or service.
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