An idea
is an intangible concept, but If you believe it could be a valuable asset to a
person or business, you should treat it as intellectual property consider the
many routes to patent an idea. Patents are valuable for protecting an idea and
your inherent intellectual property rights.
Intellectual
property is generally broken into four categories:
Trade
Secret
Patent
Trademark
Copyright
Of these
forms of intellectual property protection, trade secret most closely related to
the protection of an idea. Common law protects information (including ideas)
that have value to a company as well as your intellectual property rights to
own and use the concept. Basically, the idea must have some economic value, not
be generally known to the public, and subject to protection by the company.
Patent rights relate
to protection an invention, such as a process, machine, or composition of
matter that is novel, non-obvious, and (in the case of a utility patent)
useful. While these relate to a physical creation, the patent rights apply to
the claimed attributes of the invention. In this way, it could be said that a
patent relates to the protection of an idea that has materialized.
Trademark concerns any
symbol, mark, word, phrase, or sound that comes to represent a business’s
products, services, or brand. It is only loosely related to the concept of
protecting an idea.
Copyright concerns the
recording of original, creative expressions. The creative expression might be a
novel way of saying something. This concept is related, but still distinct from
the idea itself.
Trade
Secret Protection for an Idea
Trade
secret protection covers formulas, processes or methods, or compilations of
information, and can be effective when trying to patent an idea. These
intellectual property rights allow you to take action ifthe informationis
misappropriatedor used without consent. Of course, if a third party is able to
figure out the information on their own, then there is no misappropriation.
Perhaps some of the most well-known trade secrets are Coca-Cola’s formula and
KFC’s secret recipe. Most businesses have client lists or other compilations of
information that constitute trade secrets.
The major
benefit of trade secret protection is that the protective rights continue
indefinitely. The rights in the information are lost when the information
becomes commonly known or the company stops taking reasonable steps to protect
the information.
Utility
Patentfor an Idea
Inventors
often begin with an idea. To seek utility patent protection of
that idea, the inventor must demonstrate how the idea can be transformed or
assembled into a novel, non-obvious, and useful invention. The claimed elements
of the invention that bear these characteristics are really physical
representation of the idea itself. That idea must not have been commonly known
to the public at the time of filing for patent protection. A design patent
regards the ornamental or aesthetic elements of an article of manufacture. In
this way, the patent rights protect a design concept or idea.
Consultan
Intellectual Property Lawyer
Determining
whether an idea can be protected is the most difficult aspect of intellectual
property law. It is very difficult to show the novelty or uniqueness of a
creation. Nonetheless, the USPTO issues thousands of patents every year to
creators. At the same time, it issues thousands of rejections to applications.
Don’t try to navigate this legal maze alone. The experienced intellectual property lawyers at
ANTLawyers.vn are both experienced and affordable. They can provide support in
identifying creations that are capable of intellectual property protection,
securing those intellectual property rights, and providing on-going protection
of those rights.
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