If you work in a creative industry, you must be aware of proper intellectual property law. These laws are put in place to protect creators from another person or company taking their idea. There are various types of intellectual property. Various categories can make it confusing to realize what your property falls under. Once you understand what type of intellectual property you have, you will know how to protect it. A copyright and patent law firm can provide professional assistance for you. In this post, you will learn more about the various types of intellectual property.
Trademarks: A trademark is similar to a copyright but there are a few differences. Trademarks protect a good or service on behalf of a company. However, a copyright is used more to protect a specific work. Filing a proper trademark will have to go through the proper trademark office and paying a fee. This fee is peace of mind against a company trying to steal your trademark. In most cases, a trademark will only last ten years. You will want to ensure you keep track of dates, in case you ever need to renew a trademark. Unfortunately, companies have lost out on their created property because they let a filing deadline slip by them.
Copyrights: A copyright is typically used to protect rights on artistic creations. An artistic creation usually means written word, music, and film. However, a copyright can be had on almost any created work sent into the market. A computer program can even be considered something that has a copyright attached to it. Filing a copyright for your work gives you both economic and moral rights to your intellectual properties. Economic rights are, of course, concerned with receiving monetary compensation. Moral rights protect your interests against those trying to steal your work.
Patents: While copyrights are used on artistic pieces, a patent is typically used to protect your invention. A patent tells the world this is your invention and you have full control over it. There have been times where someone ended up getting rich of an idea someone had. The difference was the person receiving credit for the idea was the one who patented it first. A great way to protect yourself in intellectual property law is to have a patent filed for your product as soon as possible.
Designs: A design will usually consist of every detail of a product, including dimensions and special features. If someone has gotten their hand on your information, you could very likely have an intellectual property lawsuit to make. Proper protection of a design means that a third party cannot make or sell any product involving your design.
In closing, there are several important types of intellectual property. Trademarks are often used to show that a specific company owns said trademark. Copyrights are used to protect entire artistic works including movies, artwork, and music, to name a select few. Patents are intellectual property used to show that someone invented a product first. Design property has to do with specifications related to the design of a product. If you think that your intellectual property rights have been violated, you will definitely want to get in touch with a lawyer.
