Is a Patent Required to License an Idea?
There are three categories to consider when protecting a unique idea or invention with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They are to apply for either a patent, trademark or copyright.
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Patent Importance
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If your objective is to make the largest amount of money possible on your invention, then obtaining a patent is what the USPTO suggests. Legally a patent is needed to be considered licensed, which protects an inventor by granting exclusive rights, preventing others to sell, use or make their invention. The importance of this is to gain financially for the commercialization of your invention by keeping it a unique product in the market.
Main Considerations
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Patents are for an inventor who "invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof" (uspto.gov). An idea or suggestion cannot be patented alone. It must be a thorough description of a manufactured product, accompanied with detailed technical drawings identifying all the invented parts and appropriate information. Further details on drawing requirements can be found by contacting the USPTO or visiting their website.
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Patent Types
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Patents specifically cover material, technological inventions in the form of a "utility," "design" or "plant" patent. A utility patent is meant for technology and manufactured products. A design patent is intended for ornamental designs for existing products. A plant patent is for the invention, discovery or asexually reproduction of a new variety of plant species.
Copyright
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Copyright focuses on protecting authors of creative ideas, such as written works, music, art and intellectual works, both published and not published. This protects the author from how they express their work, and does not make exclusive what the author expresses.
Trademarks
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Trademarks protect a symbol, word, name or device that identifies or separates a company from the rest. This is usually done for the sake of unique branding strategies.
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