The following details regarding Patents, Trademarks and Copyright is brought to you as a public service of 1000Attorneys.com – State Bar Approved Lawyer Referral and Info Service. The material presented is general legal details intended to alert you to achievable legal issues and solutions. Patents are intended to safeguard inventions of a functional or design nature. Trademarks present protection for indicators of the source of items and services utilized in commercial trade, such as words or logos. Copyrights offer protection for literary and artistic expressions. Patents, trademarks and copyrights are collectively referred to as intellectual property. Patents are granted by the federal government to protect inventions for a limited period of time. There are 3 types of patents: utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. A utility patent gives the … Read entire article »

The short answer to this question is that a trademark can grow to be a brand. Even if you’re organization is local, a brand name is critical not only from a advertising but also a customer perception basis. When several people feel government enterprise registration documents, they naturally feel patents. General copyrights which establish ownership of certain kinds of property like writings, music etc. Trademark registration however is employed to establish ownership rights to a particular design, character, lettering style or combinations and of all these into 1 single general identifying mark. Good examples of Trademarked goods would be the NIKE swoosh or McDonalds Golden Arches. These trademarked designs are readily identifiable with the company using them. Trademarks, Servicemarks and other official registrations are good since they establish ownership. That … Read entire article »

The primary difference between assigning a patent and licensing a patent is crucial.  Assigning Patents, Trademarks or Copyrights is essentially selling the total ownership interest in that patent, trademark, or copyright.  And the licensing of a patent, trademark, or copyright is like “renting” that patent, trademark, or copyright. Assignment of Patents, Trademarks or Copyrights can be created in whole or in component.  In other words, you might assign away 50%, 1%, or 99% of your interest in that Patent, Trademark, or Copyright.  Assignments might be integrated into a contract, or might be drafted separately.  And the assignment of Patents, Trademarks or Copyrights can be fairly straight forward. By way of contrast, the licensing of Patents, Trademarks or Copyrights is essentially “renting” those Patents, Trademarks or Copyrights.  In the most strict legal sense, … Read entire article »

Trademark is the unique sign employed by an entity to differentiate its goods and services from the rest. It is a mark that distinguishes a item or a service from others of the very same category. It stands as the mark of the producer or provider of the items or services. Identification of the specific individual or organization involved in producing the goods or supplying the services is carried out on the basis of the trademark. It ensures the exclusive rights of the owner over the goods or the services and therefore acts as legal protection. An individual or organization wants to register its trademark to use it. The registration and use of a trademark entails a number of legalities. This is why it is wise to take the assist … Read entire article »