Trademarks, Service Marks, Word Marks, Copyrights – What, Why And How

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Trademarks, Service Marks, Word Marks, Copyrights
What, Why And How
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Protecting your businesss intellectual property
is crucial to the success of your business. What
does your business intellectual property consists
of and how can you protect it?
Trademarks, Service Marks, Word Marks, Copyrights
What, Why And How
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There are four main types of intellectual
property that your business can protect
trademarks, designs, patents, and copyrights. 
Trademarks, Service Marks, Word Marks, Copyrights
What, Why And How
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Trademarks

• A trademark is a distinctive sign that includes
  any word, name, symbol, device, or any
  combination, used or intended to be used to
  identify the goods/services that your business
  provides from those of others. The trademark
  owner can be an individual, business, or any
  legal entity.

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Registered Trademarks

• You can register your trademark with the United
  States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). There
  are several benefits of having a registered
  trademark
• Notice to public of your registered claim of
  ownership of the mark
• Legal presumption of ownership throughout the
  nation
• Legal protection from the infringement or
  unauthorized use of the trademark and
• Exclusive right to use the mark on or in
  connection with your goods and services listed in
  your registration.

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Unregistered Trademarks

• An unregistered trademark does not benefit from
  the protection afforded to trademarks through
  registration as mentioned above. Unregistered
  trademarks receive common law trademark rights
  and can be protected under the Lanham Act. You
  can use the unregistered trademark symbol () on
  or in connection with your registered goods
  and/or services.

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Word Marks

• A word mark is a distinct text-only typographic
  of the name of a company, institution, or product
  name used for purposes of identification and
  branding. It consists solely of words, letters,
  numbers, or a combination thereof. Note, the text
  of a word mark can be trademarked. When a word
  mark is federally registered, the standard
  registration symbol is .

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Service Marks

• A service mark is the same as a trademark, but it
  identifies a service rather than a product. When
  a service mark is federally registered, the
  standard registration symbol is . Before it is
  registered, the registration symbol is ?.

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Copyrights

• A copyright is a legal form of protection for
  original works of authorship fixed in a tangible
  medium of expression which includes literary,
  dramatic, musical, and artists works such as
  poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software,
  and architecture.

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How to Obtain a Trademark or Copyright

• As mentioned above, you can register a trademark,
  service mark, or word mark with the USPTO. First,
  you will need to search the trademark records to
  see if someone else is already using the mark.
  You can conduct the search using the Trademark
  Electronic Search System (TESS) .

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Trademark Copyright Infringement

• It is not uncommon for a business to undergo
  trademark or copyright infringement. If you
  experience this, you should send a demand letter
  (cease and desist) to the infringing party
  requesting them to cease the infringement of your
  trademark or copyright.

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