GET AN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ASSESSMENT
You can hire an MEInc Consultant to go through your company, products & services with a fine tooth comb.  We sign a non-disclosure agreement and systematically review every nuance of your business for exploitable property (confidentially).
After thorough review we will label all of the unique components and claims that we think should be considered for formal treatment (as part of your "intellectual property portfolio").  We will also recommend ways for your company to exploit intellectual property for profit and/or use your property to leverage other business enhancements (things like marketing, licensing & product placement through our network).

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PATENTS

PATENTS relate to INVENTIONS.  Simply put: a US PATENT gives an Inventor the exclusive right to the Invention in the USA for a certain period of time.  Once a PATENT is issued to an Inventor they become the only person/company who can legally sell, make and/or use the invention which is covered by the PATENT.  In exchange for this protection the government requires you to publicly disclose "how it works" (this way, when your patent expires, the world can benefit from your genius).  PATENTS EXPIRE (14-20yrs)

Patent Office Description: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/whatis.htm

There are THREE TYPES of PATENTS (See Patent Examples):

DESIGN PATENT (A Cow Shaped Milk Jug? - Go make Moo-lah)
http://www.uspto.gov/main/glossary/index.html#design
See also: "Trade Dress" under "Trademarks"
UTILITY PATENT (invent a snow-plow or a bacteria?- Gesundheit!) http://www.uspto.gov/main/glossary/index.html#utility
PLANT PATENT (Breed plants? - congrats on your Cactus Walnuts)
http://www.uspto.gov/main/glossary/index.html#plant
 

ACTUAL COST is tough to calculate without knowing the complexity of an invention, but if you have a "single patent" for an invention that can be easily conveyed on paper here is an honest "guess":
APPLICATION FEES will run $395-$2,500 (See also "Costs" under "When & Why"  )
PREP & LEGAL FEES will run $500-$15,000 (See also "Private Sector" under "Who").
Note: There is a wide range for fees because if there are 900 existing patents "close" in scope to yours they will have to be referenced for any conflicts of use or design.

Patents aren't just handed out.  Applications are scrutinized for legal language, trade related terminology and have to be submitted with considerations for related patents that may already exist (or may come to exist).  Good Patents cover a wide territory requiring "carefully chosen words" and precisely why you should work with a professional wordsmith in your "trade" (because using the word "knob" to describe a "cam" is the type of thing that will compromise your patent).

Patent applications are basically "the written description" of what your invention is (accompanied by illustrations) - think about describing the way a toilet flushes and you can begin to see how much the right words make a difference (and the right words should be aimed at your "industry peers" as an audience [your peers will be looking up your patent when they come up with their next idea]).

The claims you make are then validated or denied by the great and powerful "Patent OZ" (this is your list of things that you claim "weren't possible before your genius mind came up with them"). 

IDEAS ARE NOT PATENTABLE- only the APPLICATION OF AN IDEA can be patented.
For instance:
The law of gravity isn't patentable, but an elevator is patentable (applying weights and pulleys to apply the laws of gravity is a "unique application" of science). 

RECIPES ARE NOT PATENTABLE - see "Trade Secrets" (below)

SUMMARY: If you come up with a design or use (utility function) for something that would benefit from protection against competitors in commerce (even in the case of a plant [or the seeds]), then you may want to consider applying for a PATENT.

PATENTS can be an improvement upon someone else's invention or be a completely new  invention...but the result has to be more than an "idea"- it has to be "useful" (and scientifically identifiable as uniquely yours) in order to qualify for patent protection.
You can get a Design Patent for a certain color scheme and accessory package (even if it is on someone else's product). 
You can get a Utility Patent for a new type of  seat to be used on a popular brand of bicycle (even if the bicycle already has a patent and it is made by another company).

We're not trying to make you an expert so that about covers it.

TRADEMARKS
SERVICE MARKS

TRADEMARKS basically relate to what most of us call "BRAND":  These could be Fonts, Names, Logos, Symbols, Colors, etc...a good measure of a Trademark is whether the use of it in advertising makes an impression towards specific products and services that are uniquely associated with the trademark holder.   TRADEMARKS can be renewed forever (as long as they are being used in commerce).

NOTE: An abandoned TRADEMARK can be registered by someone else (Chock Full O' Nuts Brand coffee is an example of a TRADEMARK that was abandoned and then became registered by a different party and is now a Brand you see again on store shelves).  See also our page on Internet Domain Names.

Patent Office Description: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/whatis.htm
Exhaustive Reading: http://tess2.uspto.gov/tmdb/tmep/1200.htm#_Toc2665887

TRADEMARK (Furniture Store Logo/Slogan - "A Product")
SERVICE MARK (Consulting Company Logo/Slogan - "A Service")

CERTIFICATION (a marking that "certifies", like a "seal")
SOUND/MOTION (like a computer "LOG ON" screen and sound)
TRADE DRESS (A Cow Shaped Milk Jug; widely interpretive)
COLLECTIVE (An group using a "Mark" for their group)

ACTUAL COST is based on how many categories and ways you want your "Mark" recognized and protected.  Generally Speaking:
Application will run $275-3,000 (from "Do It Yourself" to "Contracted")

From a sneaker logo to a catchy slogan and Book Clubs to Restaurant Themes - there are countless ways to register your marketing look and feel (so your marketing efforts can't be used by anyone else).  We're being very generic in our descriptions because people make their livings in the grey areas of Intellectual Property and you could spend months learning the nuance of this category.

The point of a trademark is to prevent your competitor from coming out with an identity in commerce that will confuse the consumer as to the source of the goods. (SERVICE MARKS relate to the source of services; they are pretty much the same thing- "a Mark" is precisely what it seems- a memory device).  Any good "Brand" will be unique- so that when you see it you immediately think of something it has come to represent (as a direct result of it being used in commerce).

If you started a uniform company called "JC Penney Work Wear" you'd probably find yourself face to face with a lawyer who was protecting the famous Department Store's TRADEMARK (preventing you from causing consumer confusion or benefiting from their distinctive identity/reputation).  If you started a cleaning company called "Cingular Housekeeping" you'd be in violation of a SERVICE MARK (though they might have recorded their name as a TRADEMARK- go to www.uspto.gov and look it up under trademarks and get familiar with how to use their search tools).

A Trademark can be filed fairly easily (even online).  This is one of the few areas of intellectual property where the "Do It Yourself" entrepreneur can save a little money.  Before filing a Trademark or Service Mark be sure and get familiar with the rules and regulations (read a couple books and/or learn your way around the www.uspto.gov website).

SUMMARY: If you use it in marketing to say who you are without saying "who you are"...that is a marketing impression gained from an association you built (and it is likely intellectual property).

TRADE NAMES and COMMON WORDS cannot be TRADEMARKED.  Tennessee Windows cannot be trademarked unless it is uniquely attached to something that has taken on a new meaning in commerce as a result of their brand (if Tennessee Windows was a pickle jar company they might have a case fro Trademark protection).
Note: Read about our experience with our brand "Boston Swing" as an example.

Again- this topic is much larger in scope and definition then casually described above...we're just trying to keep it simple.

COPYRIGHTS

COPYRIGHTS relate to "expression".  A Copyright is automatically the property of the owner from the moment it is expressed in a tangible form (on paper, on film, on the Internet, etc...). 

Copyrights protect works of authorship, such as writings, music, and works of art that have been tangibly expressed.  Copyrights are an automatic right but it is wise to record your rights with the appropriate entity.  COPYRIGHTS last for the life of the Owner plus an additional 70  years.

COPYRIGHTS

Books
Websites
Manuals
Poetry
Lyrics
Melody
Performance Recordings
Sheet Music
Video/Film
Animation
Photos
Drawings & Paintings
Scripts & Screenplays

MAIL IT TO YOURSELF?:  It seems somewhat common "over the counter advice" and we DO NOT RECOMMEND it.  The serious truth is that you could mail your manuscript to yourself in a genuinely "tamper proof" envelope with a certified receipt and postmark for about $25...and even open it in front of a judge as "proof" that it has been sealed for whatever period of time...but in order to get in front of a judge to claim "damages" your copyright needs to be registered with the Library of Congress anyway...might as well spend the extra $10 and do it right.

The Library of Congress is just that...a library.  All they do is say "yup, it's here and we received it on this date".  You still have to pay all the costs of defending your rights if you ever need to pick a fight.  NOTE:  Screenwriters in particular may be interested to know that the Writer's Guild of America (www.wga.org) ALSO has a registry specifically structured around the Film Industry.  The benefit of the WGA is that you will be assigned a registration number for your script (recognized by the industry) and the WGA offers free legal support in the event you need to pursue your rights (unlike the Library of Congress).  If you are a screenwriter or playwright you might want to register with BOTH - $70+/- is a small price to pay for "double insurance AND legal support".

SUMMARY: If your idea is an "expression", Copyrights offer the most economical way of recording and registering your 'general' intellectual property rights (artists, writers, designers and creative minds) ...but Copyrights do NOT protect INVENTIONS.

TRADE SECRETS

TRADE SECRETS are your highly prized confidential pieces information, methodology and strategy.  Simply put: "Information that shouldn't be made public because your competition could use it to compete with you".
RECIPES are not eligible for Patent Protection. 

If something makes your company, product or service more valuable (especially if is ALSO ALSO eligible for Patent protection) you need to consider the following: If a Patent (public disclosure) would ruin your ability to make money off of a trade secret you are better served by investing your time, money and energy towards KEEPING IT A SECRET.

TRADE SECRETS

Recipes (cannot be Patented)
Sales Processes
Investment Strategies
Marketing Strategy
Training Methods
Mailing Lists
Customer Information
Research Findings
 

There are laws in the United States that protect companies against theft of trade secrets.  In any case, the important component of trade secrecy is your obligation to it.  If you openly share your secrets with your employees, customers or vendors (especially without legally obligating them to also "keep it a secret") you really have no way of claiming that your trust or secret was violated.

The magic words here are "CONTRACT" and "PRIVILEGE".  If you have a sensitive trade secret you should take every precaution to have a contract in place for anyone who becomes privileged to that information.

PIECES OF SECRETS:  Many companies protect the integrity of their TRADE SECRETS by breaking their recipe or methods into separately executable parts.  A Baker, for instance, may mix all of the dry "secret" ingredients in a separate room (even off the premises) and then give those measured quantities to a person that adds them with the rest of the ingredients.  The same could be done with a data entry process or a manufacturing method.

That still doesn't stop the fact that "Baker's know how to bake" and some really good Baker with a superb sense of taste can eventually figure out how to make your "special brownies" (even if by trial and error [ or "reverse-engineering"]).  The important notion here is that your secret gives you an advantage for however long you can keep it a secret.  I

NOTE: If your secret can easily be "reverse-engineered" you should still keep an eye on secrecy but also TURN YOUR FOCUS TO  MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE BEFORE YOUR COMPETITORS FIGURE IT OUT (so that you can keep your advantage while your competitors are still trying to catch up).

SUMMARY:  If it should be a secret, keep it a secret (and if you need to ask someone have them swear to secrecy before asking- and that includes if you have to ask MEInc.).  If anyone you deal with isn't willing to sign a confidentiality/secrecy document in order to learn about your sensitive business information (even for legitimate reasons, and especially for legitimate reasons), you are best served by finding someone else to hire, consult or contract for that scope of work.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

PUBLIC DOMAIN is the final life of intellectual property- when intellectual property becomes "Public Property" it is completely subject to the use, sale, interpretation and exploitation by the general public.

When PATENTS, TRADEMARKS & COPYRIGHTS "expire" (and TRADE SECRETS become public knowledge) they are part of the PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

Generally speaking, as a member of the "public" you are entitled to use (or otherwise exploit) anything that is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

SONGS WRITTEN BEFORE 1926
WORKS OF ART & LITERATURE
GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
 

Government information is an interesting category of PUBLIC DOMAIN.  It is after all "for the people, by the people".  What makes Government information so valuable is that access to it is relatively inexpensive, it is widely available and in most cases a LOT of money and talent has gone into the accuracy of the information (your tax money).

EXAMPLES:

If you wanted to write a book on the subject of "patents and copyrights" or "the coolest inventions of 1998" you could go to the Library of Congress and the Patent Office archives and reproduce any public information in your book, without having to pay royalties (and YOU can copyright your book because it is a protected "expression" - you've gone through the trouble of organizing that information "your way").

If you wanted to publish a book of your favorite Shakespeare quotes along with your own illustrations and art you can- Shakespeare's work is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN....(and YOU can copyright your book because it is  "your interpretation").

Elvis Presley recorded many songs that used the melody of old folk, blues and even gospel songs (music that was in the PUBLIC DOMAIN at the time).  For some of his biggest hits he only wrote new lyrics (and some cases he used the song just as it was written and only added his unique "rock n roll" flavor to it).  "How Great Thou Art" is a Gospel Hymn- no royalties paid to a songwriter because it was in the PUBLIC DOMAIN (as are things like the National Anthem and most Gospel, Folk and multi-generational songs from early America)...and Elvis copyrighted is new songs...as "his artistic expression".

NOTE: To make a point here...please note that "ELVIS™" is a TRADEMARKED use of Elvis Presley's name (all capital letters).  IF YOU CAN VALIDATE YOUR RIGHTS TO A BRAND IDENTITY YOU CAN OWN IT.  See Trademarks (above).