QUICK CHART
Intellectual Property
Symbols: © P ™ ® SM
BELOW are GENERAL DESCRIPTIONS
Use this chart to decide which topics will be the most helpful to you.
Intellectual Property Documentation is a specialized legal pursuit
(again-we're not trying to teach you everything- this is a "brief").
TIP1: Keep this page open while going through our site
TIP2: "PTO" is short for "United States Patent & Trademark Office"

PROPERTY
 

TYPICAL
APPLICATION

NOTES

COPYRIGHT
© (print)
P (performance)

Right of Ownership lasts for the lifetime of the Owner and 70 years after death.
 

FEE:  $35/submission
(or as a collection of work)
AGENT: Do It Yourself or pay someone in the "$hundreds".

Books
Websites
Manuals
Poetry
Lyrics
Melody
Performance Recordings
Sheet Music
Video/Film
Animation
Photos
Drawings & Paintings
Scripts & Screenplays
Our general interpretation is:
"Your UNIQUE EXPRESSION of an IDEA or ART"

Copyrights are granted "automatically" and you don't have to "register" your property in order to legally own it.

Filing your rights (as with the Library Of Congress or Writer's Guild of America) is the act of "legally documenting your property" with an entity that has the ability to verify the claims you might make about when it was created and who created it. 
Copyright Registration is
CHEAP and EASY
GO TO "Copyrights" Section

PATENT
Design Patent
Utility Patent
Plant Patent

"Patent Number xxxxx"
"Patent Pending"

Exclusive "Use and Sale" of something for a period of years (decided by the Patent Office).

Advancements are eligible for Patents (even by someone else).

FEE: Initially in the "$hundreds" based on unique claims/patent type.
AGENT: in the "$thousands" (to "tens of $thousands")

"Inventions"
DESIGNS
Cartoon Character
A Decorative Chair Cover
Architectural Components

UTILITY
(Utility Patent)
Machines
Methods
Toys

PLANT
Plants
(Asexual Reproduction)
 

Our general interpretation is:
"Your UNIQUE RESULT after the APPLYING your IDEA or SCIENCE"
 

"IDEAS" cannot be patented.
Recipes cannot be patented.
(see also Trade Secrets)

Design Patents cover things like the shape of a soda bottle.  A cartoon character might be eligible for a  Design Patent & Trademark (if the Design is used in marketing).

Utility Patents cover things like an engine. 

If your DESIGN is the actual UTILITY behind why your thing "works the way it does", there is some grey area.  For instance, the way the hood of a car is used to direct air to an engine (a functional exterior design) may fit a Utility or Design Patent (but not both).
GO TO "Patents" Section

TRADEMARK™
Registered ®
Service Mark (SM)
Certification Mark
Trade Dress
Collective Mark

Exclusive "Use" in marketing.
Renewable forever (as long as it is actively being used by owner).

FEE: Initially in the "$hundreds" based on category.
AGENT: In the "$hundreds" to "thousands" (or "Do It Yourself"")

Logo
Organizational Seal
Emblem
Badge
Color Scheme
Font
Slogan
Company Name
Organization Name
Made Up Word

Grey Area:
Internet Domain Names
&
Common Business Names
(the logos can be trademarked) "dot-com" idea- spend the $10 and buy it
(www.highwaymerge.com) 

Our general interpretation is:
"The public will think of your product, service, organization and/or a have an emotional or consumer reaction based on your exclusive choice of words, colors, etc..."

If it "elicits a prescribed consumer response" (particularly if your marketing investment has created that association with consumers) you should consider Registering your Trademark.

MEInc AD
See: www.highwaymerge.com

Trademarks (and all of the sub- categories) are determined based on whether or not your claimed "mark" is distinctive (or has come be associated with you and your services) AND as a result of use in "marketing".

You can use the "TM" symbol to drive off copycats but obtaining Registered Protection is what allows you to use the coveted "Registered Trademark ®"

Part of the criteria for eligibility is proving that you are using (or plan to use) your mark in marketing.
"General Business Use" on your business cards and letterhead is not enough (unless your letterhead is being distributed widely as part of a marketing effort).

If your logo is unique you may not have an issue.  More generic marks are tough to claim as "unique to your company/service".

You train your consumers with your Trademark.  The point of protection is to prevent your competition from confusing YOUR customers with the same (or notably similar) usage of words, colors, etc...

TRADE SECRET

Your Secret is Yours.

Never revealed to the public.
NEVER revealed to the public.  Yours as long as you protect its secrecy!

(never revealed to the public)

COST: Whatever it costs you to keep the secret, protect it (or license it).
AGENT: Talk to a Lawyer if you are unsure about how to achieve confidentiality in your trade.

Recipes
Secret Methods
Marketing Strategies
Mailing Lists
Customer Lists
Databases
Computer Code

DOESN'T Protect Reverse Engineering.

If someone wants to pull your thing apart or have it chemically tested they can.  If your Secret is a METHOD it might be Patentable.

Our General Interpretation is:
"If it should be a secret- keep it a secret...period."

CONTRACTS ARE A CRITICAL PART OF PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS!!!

HAVE GOOD CONTRACTS

DIVIDE YOUR SECRET INTO PIECES AND ONLY SHARE THE PIECES.

Keeping a "Trade Secret" is impossible if you register a copyright or a patent (because copyrights and patents are public).
That is the trade-off: "government protection of your rights in exchange for showing people how to do it".

The government wants genius to spread.

Patents and Copyrights were designed to help society advance at a faster pace through the open sharing of ideas, art and innovation (while protecting the people who share them).
As you can see there are various forms of protection.

Once a "secret is out" you only have recourse if you can prove someone violated a CONTRACT (but your secret is still out).

Maxim: You can legally have "exclusivity" or "secrecy"...but not both.