Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents, Oh My!

Many stagers, Realtors, and small business owners often are confused about what they need to do to protect their intellectual property.  Intellectual property generally consists of any unique ideas, names, thoughts, or processes you’ve come up with.  As we all know, in today’s information society, this type of property can be very valuable, and it’s worth the time to learn more about what you can do to protect your rights.

There are three main types of intellectual property:  trademarks, patents and copyrights.

Trademarks:  Trademarks were originally a form of advertising, used to identify the merchant selling the goods, and to guarantee the quality of the product.  Today, trademarks are still used to associate ideas or products with a particular seller.  A trademark today includes any word, symbol, name or device used by a person which they have a bona fide intention to use in commerce, and desire to use to identify or distinguish their goods.
            A subset of trademarks are things called service marks, which serve the same purpose as trade marks, but are used to identify services rather than goods.
            In order to obtain a trademark, you must show that what you’re seeking to trademark is distinctive and that you were the first one using it.
                Trademarks may be useful for stagers, Realtors and other small business owners because you may be able to protect things such as your business name or slogan.

Copyrights:  Copyrights serve to protect original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium and which can be perceived or somehow communicated.  Things that can be copyrighted include literary works, musical works, dramatic works, pictoral works, and architectural works, among many other things.
            If you obtain a copyright for something you’ve authored, you are the sole holder of rights to that works for your life plus seventy years.  In most cases, you are the only person who has the right to reproduce your work, prepare derivatives of it, distribute copies of it, perform it, or display it in public.
            Copyrights may be useful for protecting your written advertising material, pictures of your work, or your blogs on Active Rain.

Patents:  You can obtain a patent for any new process, machine, invention, composition, or improvement upon an existing process or invention you come up with.  You can’t patent an abstract idea or something which would be better served under copyright laws.  For instance, most written matter is better served by copyright, unless it is somehow a part of a patentable invention. Your invention must be novel, and it can’t be being used by anyone else.
            For example, if you were to come up with an innovative, feather-light table that one stager can move up three flights of stairs all by herself, you’d definitely want to get a patent for it.

Trademark, copyright and patent law are very specific, technical subsets of law.  There are many exceptions and qualifications to what I’ve stated above, which are totally dependent on your situation.  If you’re looking into any of these for your business, you should consult an attorney who specializes in these issues – especially when it comes to applying for a patent.  If you’d like to learn more about these issues, check out the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s official website, at www.uspto.gov. 

Legal disclaimer:  This blog is intended to be for general informational purposes only - it does not create any attorney-client relationship, and it's not legal advice.  The law may be different where you live, and every situation is different.  Contact a lawyer licensed in your state directly to assess your individual situation. Thanks for reading!