If you have an idea for a business or invention, it’s crucial to protect your intellectual property from the get-go. You may not realize this but there are three main ways of protecting your ideas and they are easy to implement. The first is a patent. The second is a copyright. The third is called a trademark. Read on for more information about each one and how to put them into practice!
1. A brief history of the three main ways to protect your ideas
If you have an idea for a new invention, product, or business, it’s important to know everything you can about protecting your intellectual property and patents. If you’re not in the tech industry, you’re probably wondering what patents are and how to protect your idea.
Patents are essential to protect your idea. The idea is supposed to remain intellectual property generally. The idea must be disclosed to the person who invents. It can also be a good idea, but it has to be conveyed in writing, before others can conceive of it. It is helpful to work out a licensing model which offers royalties to decrypt, or describe, the solution.
Patents come in all shapes and forms. They can also be required prior to filing your application for a patent to ensure you do set yourself apart as the inventor. Finally, you can file a patent based on an idea you have afterwards, as long as you can substantiate how it was different to an existing idea or process. What works best is working with a patent attorney. You should also consider the economic impact of patenting your idea.
Patents protect your invention. For any business based on your invention, you or someone you hire needs to get a license, called a patent license, for your idea. It prevents others from doing the same thing as you without permission. Patent applications are supposed to be commercially reasonable, therefore, it makes sense to get one. There are two main ways to get a patent.
First Method: If you can prove your idea is new or inventive, or that it is better than an existing idea, it can be patented. A good example is a computer or a manufacturing process. “Since it is easy to invent, it is easy to protect.”
“Since inventors generally retain their claim to their invention for 30 years after their filing date, it is relatively easy to obtain a patent for existing and inventive concepts.
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2. What is a patent and how does it work?
A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a government to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for public disclosure of an invention. The rights granted to the patentee (inventor or assignee) include the right to prevent others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention without permission. Patents have been created to encourage new inventions and spur innovation in society. However, the current patent system is unclear in many aspects. Most importantly, the current Microsoft patent illustrates how patents can become ineffective after years. So what exactly has changed?
Patents used to be a quick fix to allow inventors to hold onto and profit from their inventions. In fact, some politicians argued that patent laws were outdated and allowed companies to monopolize. After WWII, the UK created a patent office in order to streamline patents by streamlining the process. The patent office invested millions of dollars in modernizing its system and created electronic filing.
This saved inventors time and allowed them to apply for and receive patents becoming faster and cheaper. However, the results weren’t as expected. UK patent applications declined after the 1960s. Patents were often granted too easily or not at all. The process was confusing, outdated, and lacking mechanisms to protect innovation.
As a consequence of this situation, lawmakers changed the patent system to give inventors more protections. The UK resulted in passing a set of laws that significantly improved patent and patent-like systems. In other words, the system was strengthened and improved with each passing year. From 1968 to the present, patent applications have been on the rise and increased by 612%.
Because of this, today tens of millions of patents exist throughout the world and they are worth billions. Every country has its own patented inventions. Trademark law is very similar to patent law except with a few differences. As trademark is a broader concept, the following should serve as an example to understand their effectiveness.
A trademark is essentially a word, phrase, name, or symbol that identifies a particular good, service, or company.
3. What is a copyright and how does it work?
A copyright is a form of intellectual property and protects original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. It is designed to protect the rights of the creator of the work.
Copyright protection lasts for the life of the author (authors), plus an additional copyright term of 56 years after the death of the author. Copyright terms still change in certain countries though. Depending on the type of work that you create, copyright protection has different exclusivity periods and terms. Entering a copyright can be quite complicated as a new work is automatically placed into a long-term copyright.
Consider this: If you wake up one morning and write an equally great book, including your own ideas, with your own voice, that would theoretically be a make-or-break situation for your copyright. The longer you wait to enter the copyright period of your invention the longer it will sit in a long-term copyright. The Copyright Office provides online forms that ensure you are entering the correct information when you apply for copyright. Fortunately, most artists don’t have to worry about copyright as practice suggests and there are many examples that have already been published in books, articles, and internet.
I decided to try and trademark my invention. This was not something I dreamed about when starting. I figured, why not start with the mildest of things. Could I trademark an acronym? Would it help me market my invention and perhaps even make some money from it?
The first hurdle to jump was simply entering my own name and the words “intellectual property” and “trademark” into the search engine to determine if there had already been trademark filings on the same acronym, but those were unnecessary. Next I looked up the trademarks that already referred to the term, as trademark protection can be transferred across different business entities, regardless of whether they have an ownership interest or not.
4. What is a trademark and how does it work?
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design that identifies the source of a product or service. It protects the owner of the trademark from competitors who try to pass off their goods or services as those of the trademark owner. Trademark rights are established through both common law and statutory law, and trademark rights can exist without registration. You can register a trademark with the U.K Patent and Trademark Office (UKIPO) either online or physically for free. To register a trademark, you select the name of your desired trademark, pay a fee, provide supporting documents, then wait for several months — or longer — for a response before actually registering the trademark.
Trying to register a trademark before you secure the IP rights from the owner is always a waste of time and resources. There are more than 21,000 registered trademarks in the United States alone. The process of obtaining and registering trademarks can be emotionally and legally challenging, requiring careful preparation and a deep understanding of what type of goods or services the trademark applies to.
After securing the necessary trademark rights, you can apply for and maintain a trademark against potential infringers. While this is an extension of your rights, infringement claims against you are generally prevented by your registered trademark. However, only after you have registered your trademark and enforced it can you successfully protect your IP.
Perhaps the most straightforward way to protect your intellectual property is through patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Getting a patent gives you limited rights to your invention, and includes a fee to apply for the patent. Copyrights are licenses that give you the right to use something for a limited time. Trademarks are symbols identifying a particular line of goods and services. The owner of a trademark can apply for a trademark, and protect it against others who are trying to use the same or similar names. Until you fully secure and register that trademark, others will most likely be using it in an inter-conjunct term or an analogy (like “Google”).
5. When should you use each kind of intellectual property protection?
There are a lot of different kinds of intellectual property protection, and it’s hard to know which one to use and when. Here’s a rundown of the different kinds of IP protection, and when they should be used. For more information, check out the infographic below.
1. Copyright: Protects original works of authorship.
Famous cases: Walt Disney, Gertrude Vanderbilt, Chuck Hart, Bruce Springsteen
2. Patent: Protects invention, particularly software and devices.
Famous cases: Google, AirBnB, Tesla
3. Trademark: Protects brand name or design with security features.
Famous cases: Nike, Star Wars
It’s always a good idea to take steps to create and protect your intellectual property before you even realize that there’s value in it. To avoid having someone else use your ideas without your permission, it’s crucial to apply for and obtain all possible legal permissions, or to register your copyright once you actually create the vision and protect the rights of others to your idea. In addition to that, it’s also good to have a strong IP strategy because someone else could potentially be using your IP without your permission in the future.
Trademark law is designed to protect registered marks, which are copyrights, trademarks, and the like. You can register a trademark with the U.K Patent and Trademark Office (UKIPO). The deadline for filing for trademarks is 15 months, and the trademark registration process can be long and complicated. Before you register a trademark, you’ll want to carefully think through whether the trademark is being used defensively. For example, if someone is using your trademark to mimic or disparage your brand, it’s not a good idea to be in the market for defensive trademarks.
Because trademarks can be difficult to get, the trademark office may reject your intellectual property application if you don’t register it within the specified 15-month deadline. Going through the trademark process is time-consuming, costly, and will probably take years. Many businesses are “granting more than one trademark before the bankruptcy of the prior owner.