This Handbook provides an overview of federal patent and trademark law. Information discussed includes types of patents and trademarks, duration of registration, requirements for obtaining, a guide to the application process, protecting your patent or trademark, and much more in 18 pages of materials.
Patent Trademark Law For Dummies In Minnesota
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US-003HB
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A patent allows the creator of certain kinds of inventions that contain new ideas to keep others from making commercial use of those ideas without the creator's permission. Trademarks, on the other hand, are not concerned with how a new technology is used.
The Coca-Cola Corp owns the trademark to the name Coca-Cola, as well as the trademark on the bottle shape, and the graphic representation of their name. These are all things that help distinguish them from other cola brands and define their individual product. Coca-Cola also owns the patent on their formula.
A trademark typically protects brand names and logos used on goods and services. A patent protects an invention. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work. For example, if you invent a new kind of vacuum cleaner, you'd apply for a patent to protect the invention itself.
How to register your trademark or service mark: Trademark Application pdf form can be found here. Submit one specimen or facsimile of the mark as you have actually used it in commerce. State the words or phrase to be registered, if any. Provide a written description of the logo design to be registered, if any.
Understanding the different types of intellectual property is an important knowledge that all in-house counsel should master. Patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets are valuable assets of the company and understanding how they work and how they are created is critical to knowing how to protect them.
If you're in the US: you can sell your product without a patent AND no one else can patent that because your invention is already out in the public. Once you start selling (or disclosing the invention to the public) you have year to apply for that patent before even you won't be allowed to patent it.
A lot of people start business with the products they invent without actually obtaining a patent for them too. In fact a patent is not mandatory to start a business although you can restrict other companies/entities from copying, making or reproducing your product with a patent for the same.
A trademark is used to identify goods made by a specific producer. Tom's distinctive logo would be one such example, but trademarks can also take the forms of phrases, words, or symbols. Distinctive sounds, scents, or even shapes and colors can also be registered as trademarks.
How to register your trademark or service mark: Trademark Application pdf form can be found here. Submit one specimen or facsimile of the mark as you have actually used it in commerce. State the words or phrase to be registered, if any. Provide a written description of the logo design to be registered, if any.