Trademarks — Different From Copyright and Patents
There is sometimes some confusion surrounding the various intellectual property law terms. People are generally familiar with the words, but are sometimes not too sure which one applies to what. Though there are depths to the laws surrounding these terms, it’s easy to get a general overview of what is covered under each law. This overview is for trademarks.
First, What a Trademark Is
Trademarks are basically a phrase, a word, a design or a symbol that identifies one company from another. Or one provider from another. These trademarked items (or ones that qualify for trademarking) include logos, symbols and the name of a service provider or creator of goods or services. Some items are also known as service marks.
What a Trademark Isn’t
Trademarks do not protect original literary or artistic work. Those would fall under copyright, which is covered by a different law. Trademarks also do not protect inventions, as those are covered under the patent law. Simply inventing something and declaring it yours is not enough to protect that invention from being claimed by someone else. A full patent process is necessary for that.
Filing for a Trademark
Under US law, you don’t really have to file for a trademark. The process of using the mark is considered enough by many courts. However, some businesses take the extra (and more firm) step of gaining a federal registration of their trademark. This presents advantages that may help should issues ever be brought to court, or should problems with foreign infringement on your trademark arise.
If you have a logo or a symbol that represents your business, go ahead and start using it in order to establish your claim. You might want to be sure, first, that someone else hasn’t trademarked it through the federal government, for the purposes of being unique if nothing else, though.
