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Intellectual Property: Your most valuable assets 

Intellectual Property: Basic rules about trademarks, copyrights and patents 

Intellectual property, such as trademarks, copyrights and patents may easily be considered some of your most valuable assets as a new small business.  If your business involves the use or need of any of these, you need to consult with an attorney who specializes in intellectual property. 

Intellectual property such as copyrights: 

Copyrights involve a special type of intellectual property which protects the expression of ideas and artistic work, which then allows the creator the ability to control how it is expressed or used.  A small c in a circle © is used to designate a copyrighted material.  However, the lack of this designation does not necessarily mean that material has not been copyrighted.  If you do not see a trademark after the intellectual property you do not assume you can use it.  You need to check it out and make sure that it's not copyrighted.  For more information, you may contact the Copyright Society of the USA at www.csusa.org . 

Intellectual Property: Trademarks 

A trademark is another form of intellectual property which gives you exclusive right to the use of a word, phrase, logo or other identifier as a name brand associated with a specific company.  Before claiming some type of identifier as your own, you need to check and be sure that it is not being currently used by someone else. A lawyer who specializes in trademark law can search among all registered and unregistered trademarks to see if anyone else has claimed trademark rights, and then can advise you on claiming or protecting your rights. Then, if a competitor tries to use your trademark, you can bring suit against them to stop them from using it.  For more information on this type of intellectual property, you may contact the International Trademark Association at www.inta.org . 

Patents: 

The final form of intellectual property we will discuss will be patents.  Patents give protection to the creators of original inventions, methods of production etc., legal protection from competition in the market for a limited period of time (usually between 17 and 20 years, depending on when the patent was issued).  This form of intellectual property protection allows the inventor to be the first to be able to present their invention or idea to the market without it being copied by a competitor.  After the patent expires, others may be able to the market the idea as their own, but usually by this time the originator has had a head start on their competition.  For more information you may contact the American Intellectual Property Law Association at www.aipla.org . 

Information from Barnes & Noble Basics: Starting a Business by Joanne Cleaver 

Web page and Starting Your Own Business Course by Paul Susic MA Licensed Psychologist  Ph.D. Candidate  CEO/President Susic Psychological Consulting P.C.