COVERING YOUR ASSETS
A Primer on U.S. Intellectual Property Rights
“I’ve learned over the years that many people don’t understand the differences between copyright, trademark, patent and trade secrets. So, I’ve put together a little table that highlights the main differences.” Paul I. Menes Esq.
| Copyright | Trademark | Patent | Trade Secrets | |
| Protects | Original creative works | Brand identifiers | Novel unobvious inventions | Confidential proprietary information |
| Examples | Art, music, recordings, software, choreography, movies, content, books | Color schemes, packaging design, names, logos, acronyms | Manufacturing techniques, formulas, processes | Customer lists, business plans, techniques, data, financials |
| When Rights Obtained | Upon Creation | First Use in Commerce | When Patent Granted | Upon Creation |
| Registration | Optional but advisable | Optional but advisable | Required | Unavailable |
| Its Benefits | Public notice of ownership claim, presumption of ownership, can recover attorneys’ fees, statutory damages can sue in Fed. Court, reciprocal protection in some other countries | Public notice of ownership claim, presumption of ownership, can also for international ownership rights | Monopoly | Not Applicable |
| Term | Far over 100 years for new works, varies for existing ones | For as long as mark is in use, if registration maintained | 20 Years from application date | For as long as information remains secret |
| Approx. Cost to Register | $35.00 to a few hundred | Thousands | Thousands | Not Applicable |
| Proper Marking | © (year) (owner) | (R) for registered marks TM or SM for unregistered marks | Patent (patent #) Patent Pending but only if application filed | Clearly mark all trade secret documents “Confidential” or “Trade Secret” |