Trademark, Copyright and Patent: A Short Summary

The word trademark describes an image, a device, or words which act like a signature for a certain product.

Using copyright means protecting your business and products from any frauds. All forms of inventions are protected through this system: literature, visual arts, devices, etc as long as they are palpable. Websites, music, graphics are also protected, giving the owner exclusive rights in copying, distributing and sell it without any restrictions.

Patents are a part of what we call intellectual property and it is protected through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent, as the copyright makes sure that your invention will not be used by anyone else. The law that protects your patent is the Patent Act, 35 U.S.C. which, by using jargons, clarifies any misinterpretations.

There are subjects which are not given patent protection. It includes mental processes, physical phenomena, abstract ideas, and nature laws. Take for instance; you can't patent a new plant, insect, or mineral found or discovered in the wilderness. Likewise, the law of gravity couldn't have patented by Newton and "E=mC2" by Einstein. Any discovery which shows characteristics of nature is not reserved for a single person since it is free to all. Nature laws and abstract ideas are reserved for public domain. Artistic, musical, dramatic, or literary works are entitled for copyright protection. Inventions which are offensive and not useful are deprived of a patent right.

The purpose of the patent law is giving the inventors full rights on what they invent. This also ensures protection from any form of fraud that may come later. You can find this law in the U.S. Constitution, Clause 8 of Section 8 of Article I, It also gives monopoly rights to the inventors so they can sell or distribute their idea however they wish.

Any invention has the right to be displayed to public; however, it will not be copied or distributed without the owner's permission. If you want to patent an invention, you have to make sure before applying, that you have a well described usage and it fits the standard criteria.

Although they contain nature laws, like mathematical algorithms, software programs can be patented as long as they are original. In 1981, the Supreme Court declared patent protection for software and software related, only if they use certain nature laws to create something original.

An invention is qualified for a patent protection if it is new, non-obvious, and useful. The invention was never used in public before an application for a patent is done. The USPTO will reject a patent if the invention is used or sold in public by the inventor or anyone for over one year before filing a patent application. Similar or identical inventions disclose publicly by others in any parts of the world can be denied of patent rights. Prior art is not anymore considered novel.

The patent claims are described as follows: a preamble (an introduction part), the steps for its implementation, and the main part which refers to its rights of not being copied, distributed, or sold by anyone except the owner.

About the Author

Find more free resources on business trademarks and patents and ways to protect yourself and your business at http://trademark.tips-and-guides.com.