Intellectual Property Guide

In law, intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain names, written and recorded media, and inventions. The holders of these legal entitlements are generally entitled to exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the subject matter of the IP. The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect. The term implies that intellectual works are analogous to physical property and is consequently a matter of some controversy.

Intellectual property laws confer a bundle of exclusive rights in relation to the particular form or manner in which ideas or information are expressed or manifested, and not in relation to the ideas or concepts themselves (see idea-expression divide). The term "intellectual property" denotes the specific legal rights which authors, inventors and other IP holders may hold and exercise, and not the intellectual work itself.  Intellectual property laws are designed to protect different forms of subject matter, although in some cases there is a degree of overlap.

Patent

A patent may be granted for a new, useful, and non-obvious invention, and gives the patent holder a right to prevent others from practicing the invention without a license from the inventor for a certain period of time (typically 20 years from the filing date of a patent application).  In the U.S., a patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  The right conferred by the patent grant is "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" the invention in the United States or "importing" the invention into the United States for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted. Patents are territorial in that patent protection must be applied for in each country where protection is sought.  The USPTO Inventors Assistance Center (IAC) provides patent information and services to the public. The IAC is staffed by former Supervisory Patent Examiners and experienced Primary Examiners who answer general questions concerning patent examining policy and procedure. The IAC can be reached by telephone at 800-786-9199. If you have questions regarding foreign patents, please call 1-866-999-HALT.

Trademark

A trademark protects words, names, symbols, sounds, or colors that distinguish goods and services from those manufactured or sold by others and indicate the source of the goods. In the U.S., trademarks, unlike patents, can be renewed forever as long as they are being used in commerce. Registration of a trademark is not required in the U.S., although there are benefits to obtaining a Federal trademark registration through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Trademarks are territorial; unlike the United States, most countries require registration of trademark rights. For general trademark information, please telephone the Trademark Assistance Center, at 1-800-786-9199, or e-mail your question to TrademarkAssistanceCenter@uspto.gov. If you have questions regarding foreign trademarks, please call 1-866-999-HALT.Copyright may subsist in creative and artistic works (e.g. books, movies, music, paintings, photographs, and software) and give a copyright holder the exclusive right to control reproduction or adaptation of such works for a certain period of time (historically a period of between 10 and 30 years depending on jurisdiction, more recently the life of the author plus several decades).

Copyright

A copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of "original works of authorship" including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. A copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. The U.S. Copyright Office handles copyright registrations. Owners of copyrighted works seeking protection in other countries should first determine the extent of protection available to works of foreign authors in that country. If you need answers to specific copyright questions or want to know more about copyrights in general, please contact the U.S. Copyright Office at (202) 707-5959 or its website at www.copyright.gov/help.

Trade Secret

A trade secret, which is sometimes either equated with or a subset of "confidential information," is secret, non-public information concerning the commercial practices, or proprietary knowledge of a business, public disclosure of which may sometimes be illegal.  Generally, a trade secret can include a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process that is used in one's business, and has independent economic value that provides an advantage over competitors who are not aware of it or use it.  Under most circumstances, a trade secret is lost once it is independently discovered.

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