How to Protect a Business Idea

Video Transcript

"How to protect a business idea. When protecting a business idea, you need to determine which type of intellectual property protection comes into play. There are three different choices. Patents, trademarks or copyrights. Each distinctly different and each serving a completely different purpose. Patents protects inventions and improvements in existing inventions. A patent is often described as maybe a cell phone, a video camera, maybe a camera. Those are things that are typically used, patents are placed on those items. Trademarks on the other hand, include a word, a symbol or a device or any combination of the three. A trademark is usually intended to distinguish one manufacturer from another. For example, a trademark is Coca-Cola. The symbol of Coca-Cola has been trademarked and is a registered trademark. Trademarks are often denoted by a capital TM. A service mark includes any name, word, device or combination thereof and its often used to distinguish one service provider from another. The mark that is used is often denoted by the letter SM. A service mark that is very famous is Roto-Rooter. It is a plumbing company and they have a service mark for the service that they provide. When a service mark is federally registered, it is written as a capital R and before it is registered, it is written as SM without the lines though. A copyright protects original works of authorship including any literary, dramatic, music, artistic or poetry, novels, movies, songs, you name it, that's what a copyright protects. It does not however protect any type of facts, ideas, systems, methods or operations, although it may protect the way things are expressed. A copyright is often symbolized by a C within a circle. Upon determining the proper intellectual property, you must register with the appropriate federal agency. Either the U.S. Patent and Trademark office or the U.S. Copyright office. Additionally, check with your local Secretary of State's office to see if there are any trademark rules that apply in your state."