No matter whether you need a copyright, patent, or trademark, there is a series of action that needs to be taken to gain intellectual property rights. Intellectual property practices can be a time-consuming application, especially when you desire a patent for an item that you have developed.

Intellectual Property Practices: Copyright and Plagiarism

One basic intellectual property rule involves plagiarism, especially regarding any content that has been published in any location. Plain and simple, it means that published content can only be published once by a single author, and if anyone else attempts to copy and publish that text as their own, then copyright law has been broken.

For a work to be officially copyrighted, there is still legal action that needs to be taken to own a piece of work. This could include copyrighting the title to a book or paper so that as the author you have to be cited when your copy, title, or content is referred to in someone else’s work.

Intellectual Property Practices: Trademark Law

Trademarks can be registered for online, where you need to trademark anything from your company brand to a product name. By registering for a trademark you own the name that has been registered, and the trademark symbol (™) is required to follow those names when they are used in a text. This also means that no one else would be able to name another product or brand the same, even if the contents are the same.

Therefore, the trademark is not quite as in-depth intellectual property ownership as the patent, but it is also a faster registration process while still having the same legal protection. It provides the ability for intellectual property litigation if another company attempts to name their products the same as yours, or even if a company attempts to open with the same name as another trademarked brand name.

Intellectual Property Practices: Patents

Regarding intellectual property, the patent process is the most difficult. First, not all items can be patented. Additionally, to meet the qualifications to be patented, there is a long list of terms that must be matched by an invention. Note that only about half of all patent applications receive approval. This could be because of the over 500,000 applications that are received by the USPTO annually.

Even though around 12 industries rely on patents for intellectual property, the process can be long and challenging, with the initial application only protection an invention for a year. It is important to remember that a pending patent does expire after this period and it is up to the inventer to re-apply or to make updates to work for final approval when applying again for a patent. Patent laws can be tough, and the need for a patent attorney may be required. It is a challenge, but when believing in your invention the work toward a patent is well worth the effort.