Understanding the Different Forms of Intellectual Property Rights Protection

In the United States, there are different ways to protect Intellectual Property(IP) rights, each of which serve a unique purpose and are designed for a specific type of protectable asset. These are Copyright, Trademarks, Patents, and Licenses. Although they are each different, the distinctions among them are quite subtle and it is very easy to mistake one for another. Oftentimes, the same product or service can be protected by more than one of these IP rights forms of protection. In this article, you will learn the key differences among the types of IP rights forms of protection recognized by U.S. Law and how our Lawyers at Jurado & Farshchian, P.L., can help you protect your intellectual property rights.

Copyright

Simply put, Copyrighting protects the rights of an “author” in his or her original creative works. Works that can be protected by a Copyright include artistic creations, business-related works like designs, software code, architectural drawings, and product manuals.

The author of a Copywritten work has the exclusive right to reproduce it, perform it, publish it, film it, record it, and create derivative works from it.

The life of a Copyright is equal to the life of the author of the work plus 70 years. However, if a company is the owner of the Copywritten work, the term is 95 years after the date the work is made public.

Copyrightable works must be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Although Copyright Registration is optional, it is highly recommended. Registration is more than just a formality; it provides legal benefits to the author of the Copywritten work, including the ability to enforce the Copyright in court.

Trademarks

A Trademark is a word, sound, symbol, slogan, design, logo, emblem or a combination of all that identifies the source of a service or product and distinguishes it from those of a similar kind made by others. Trademarks can represent the service or product itself, the manufacturer of the product or the provider of the service, or a feature or element of the service or product.

The owner of a Trademark has the right to prevent others to use a similar logo, design, or word that could be confusing.

Although it is not required by law, registering a Trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office gives many benefits to the Trademark owner. For example, a U.S. Trademark registration gives the owner rights to use the mark in connection with the products and services included in the registration all over the country.

Patents

Patents are a form of IP rights protection that is meant to be used by inventors. A Patent is granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and gives an inventor the exclusive rights over an invention for 20 years.

A Patent entitles an inventor to prevent others from making, selling, or using the Patented invention. Once the Patent is issued, the inventor has an obligation to enforce it against any third parties who use the invention without authorization.

Most Patents come in the form of Utility Patents, which protect any new and useful machine or process. To obtain a utility Patent, an inventor will need to prove to the Patent and Trademark Office that the invention is new, useful, and non-obvious.

Other types of Patents include Design Patents and Business Method Patents.

Licenses

In simple terms, Licenses are contracts that transfer Intellectual Property rights from their owner (known as the Licensor) to a third party (known as the Licensee) for their use. A Licensor can license rights to as many or as little third parties as wished.

The Licensee typically pays royalties to the Licensor in exchange for the rights to use the IP for a fixed term that can be renewed as many times as needed.

Jurado & Farshchian, P.L., Can Help You Protect Your Intellectual Property Rights

At our law firm, professional Intellectual Property Attorneys will handle your Copyright, Trademark, and Patent registration as well as your Licensing Contracts. Our skilled and experienced attorneys will ensure that the Intellectual Property of your business is protected properly and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Lets us help you protect the property you have put so much thought into and have worked so hard to turn into a reality.

Call us today at (305) 921–0440 or send us an email to [email protected]to learn more about our Intellectual Property protection services and schedule a consultation with our team of experts.