With the booming of technological advances, businesses, and individuals who introduce innovative goods into the stream of commerce have to pay special attention on how to best protect their intellectual property. For many business owners and entrepreneurs, trademarks and copyrights protections are two of the most frequently confused intellectual property rights. While a trademark protects a brand or product, a copyright protects original works of authorship and creatorship. This article will outline the primary differences between trademark and copyright protection, and the advantages an official registration provides.

Trademark Protection

A trademark protects anything that represents a brand in the marketplace, including business and product names, slogans, logos, and even unique colors, sounds, and smells. It is crucial for a business owner to decide which aspects of the business need to become trademarked because a trademark will protect a business from competitors that try to profit from a brand’s reputation. There are generally two channels for protecting your trademark: i) Registration under the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); ii) common law protection.

USPTO Trademark Registration

With a federally registered trademark under the USPTO, a successful business can achieve its goal of establishing a unique brand, building customer loyalty, and ensuring that a product or service stands out in a crowded market.

Common-Law Protection

Common law trademark rights are limited and are not likely to offer protection if a business plans to expand to another region.

Key Considerations for USPTO Trademark Registration

For the above reasons, registering a trademark is essential to ensuring that a company’s intellectual property is adequately protected. Before registering a trademark with the USPTO, it is essential to work with a trademark attorney to conduct a comprehensive trademark search that ensures another business or individual is not already using the mark. As soon as it becomes certain that the mark is not already in use, a trademark application should be submitted to the USPTO immediately in order to ensure that anyone else wishing to file for a similar mark will be rejected. A trademark registration approved by the USPTO will not expire as long as the mark remains in use consistently, and meets renewal requirements and deadlines.

If you or your company needs to register a trademark, contact us today for a flat rate quote.

Copyright Protection

A copyright protects original works of authorship and creatorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. Copyright protection gives the creator exclusive rights to print, display, distribute and perform the work, as well as publish and transmit the work throughout the internet. Having ownership under copyright is essential because it protects the work as one’s own intellectual property and controls who can make money from it.  The protection lasts for the duration of the creator’s life, plus an additional seventy years.

Although copyright protections arise automatically from the time a person starts to create an original work, there are two primary benefits to copyright registration. First, it greatly enhances the copyrights’ value, and in turn, ensures the maximization of damages from infringers. Second, registration makes it much easier to enforce copyright protection. Working with an attorney to obtain registration is essential to ensuring that your intellectual property is sufficiently protected. Once a copyright is registered, it becomes easier and more advantageous to monitor its use in the marketplace and take immediate action to protect the work if there is a potential infringement.

Contact us today for more information about how to apply for a copyright or trademark registration to ensure that your intellectual property is adequately protected.