Intellectual Property Rights. Having law on your side while creating.

During this course part I was eager to learn something that I don't know, because I would say that when it comes to business law, my ears open and are paying attention, so I would at least remember something from the lectures when later in life participating in different kind of actions and transactions related to law.

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. In this blog post I will speak about 3 different types of intellectual properties — copyrights, patents and trademarks.

Copyright

To protect a work of art or literature, you will need a copyright. You can obtain copyright protection by filing an application with the United States Copyright Office. For most works, the process will be fairly straightforward. First, you’ll need to choose the appropriate form: There’s one form for literary works, another for visual arts, another for sound recordings, and so on. You’ll need to furnish details such as the title of the work, the author, and the creation date. Once your form is in, it can take several months to receive copyright protection, but the process is well worth doing, especially since the fees for copyright applications are quite low.

Patent

If you’ve invented something — an object that’s never existed before, or a new way of solving a problem — you need to apply for a patent as soon as possible. You’ll be dealing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or European Patent Office (EPO), depending on your location, which offers several types of patent applications.

To prevent others from using your invention without your consent, apply for a utility patent. If you’ve invented a beautiful new chair, you can’t patent sitting, but you may be able to patent your unique design. In this case, you’ll need a design patent. If time is of the essence (and it often is, when you and lots of other talented adventures are working on solving the same problem), you’ll want to file a provisional application for patent. This gives your application priority over others that may be filed later, and it allows you to affix the “patent pending” label to your invention, discouraging others from copying it or using it without permission.

A patent is granted in exchange for public disclosure of your invention. So, though you may have been toiling away in secret up till now, you need to start spilling the beans. With any patent application, you may need to furnish detailed explanations, technical data, and drawings of your invention.

Trademark

A trademark is a unique identifier for your goods and/or services. Each national or regional office maintains a Register of Trademarks (RoT) or World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) containing full application information on all registrations and renewals, which facilitates examination, search and potential opposition by third parties.

Once you have settled on your trademark, you’ll need to determine its format. It may be a standard character format (for example, you may wish to protect a name, but not specify the font or colors used, or any other design elements); it could be a stylized/design format (a logo); or it may be a sound mark.

You’ll need to list all the goods and services that will be covered by your trademark, which can be tedious, but is nonetheless vitally important. You’ll also need to search the Trademark database for similar trademarks, to be sure the one you want is available.

You will then need to provide the RoT or WIPO with your basis for filing: either “use in commerce” or “intent to use.” Basically, if you are already in business, and you already use the mark on all the goods and services you listed earlier, file under “use in commerce.” If you have a startup at the business-plan stage, you probably haven’t used the mark in the course of business yet (because you haven’t conducted any business), but you may intend to do so later. In this case, file under “intent to use.”

Lastly, file your application and pay the fees. Depending on your business, these can add up, as they are often levied “per class of goods or services.” Trademark applications can be submitted electronically via the RoT or WIPO website, but for the best chance of getting everything you can out of your trademark, consider getting a qualified attorney on your side.

Value for investors

What was interesting specially for me is that if the start-up has its creation protected then the startup suddenly becomes more appealing for investors. Why so? There might be several reasons to that. First, if the startup has its IPP secured then it might indicate that founders possess some technological knowledge and probably know what what they are doing. Secondly, it protects startup founder from employing smart people who might get the know-how and then quit and become direct competitors. Thirdly, a start-up reserves its right to produce the certain technology and might engage in franchising.