Intellectual Property Law

Patents are issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patents are designed to protect inventors from having their inventions duplicated by others for profit. (See Reference 1.) ...

The concept of issuing patents was first introduced in 15th century Italy. Patents were designed to protect the rights of creators of new processes or products. Patents also introduce the...

Article 1, section 8 of the United State Constitution charges the government with the responsibility of protecting inventors and their inventions. The United State Patent and Trademark Office...

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, a patent is a property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor to exclude others from making,...

Inventors need protection to keep their inventions and ideas exclusively to themselves. One of the ways inventors can protect their rights is by applying for patents. The Canadian Patent Act...

Obtaining a patent is a difficult procedure for an independent inventor. All patent applications are reviewed by the U.S. Patent & Trademark office (PTO) to ensure that an invention is novel,...

If you have invented something you know will be an enormous hit with the consumer market, the first thing you'll want to do is seek patent protection for your brilliant creation. The U.S. Patent...

If your work can be copyrighted in the United States (discussed in a previous article in Resources below), you may be ready to file for a copyright. Of course there are forms to complete and fees...

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the governmental entity that establishes patenting fees. The USPTO is also responsible for approving patent applications. There are various...

Filing for a patent can be a very expensive process. In general, getting a patent approved can cost upwards of $1,300, which does not include the services of a patent attorney. These fees are due...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) establishes fees for patenting unique, non-obvious inventions. Because there are different types of patents, these fees vary, depending on those due at...

A copyright law is a legal protection provided to the original author, musician, or artist. It covers works including plays and dramas, books, songs and recordings, architecture, motion pictures...

You've done it--now you need to protect it! You've made a new connector, built a new tool, figured out a hanger that really holds, brought a whole new compound into your adhesive problem,...

In many cases, it is difficult for an inventor to market his invention on a broader scale due to lack of resources. Patents, or intellectual property rights, make it possible for the owner of the...

Have you got an original idea for a design that you want patented? First, you should know exactly what a patent is and what types of designs are patentable. A patent generally carries with it the...

Selling the rights to a patent, which excludes the manufacture and sale of certain inventions or designs, is a fairly common practice. By consulting with the resources available from the United...