By: Henry Comte Valasquez
Protecting intellectual property rights should be a top priority for a small business that creates new products. Intellectual property represents creations of the mind that have taken tangible forms such as writing or inventions. Written works are protected by copyrights, while inventions are protected by patents and names and symbols are protected by trademarks.
Patent Search
If you are introducing a new product to the market that is unlike anything that’s been marketed before, you should protect the invention with a patent or patent-pending status. A key step toward acquiring a patent is to conduct a patent search with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Find out if your new invention is similar to any patent of the past to avoid litigation. The process of filing a patent can take up to a few years.
Registering Works
An author can claim copyright ownership as soon as a piece of writing is presented to the public. Copyrights do not need to be registered with the Library of Congress, but it always helps in court cases to point to official registration dates of specific works. By registering the work you will be in a better position to litigate if someone infringes upon your writing. USPTO, as the name suggests, is the organization people turn to for registering a trademark.
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