You may have a great idea or a dream to start a business and want to file a patent before any other person coming with the similar idea. Filing a patent helps to protect an invention, a product, or a new technical solution. Without these laws of copyrights, patents, and trademarks, businesses would be in the chaotic state and ever-defensive mode. Let's learn more about the patents, its application and maintenace.
Protect Your Intellectual Property With Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks
"How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life" changed the life of Kavya Vishwanathan from being a young Indian American novelist who got $500,000 contract from Little, Brown and Company while she was in high school, to be referred among the top cases of plagiarism today. This is one example of a breach of copyrights- a right that protects the ownership of any work in original. In the same way, patents and trademarks are also ways to claim ownership of innovations and designs.
Any creation of human intellect, which can be an invention, a trademark, design or the practical application of an idea, is called intellectual property (IP). Intellectual property needs laws to prevent its misuse by others for their interests, mostly financial.
How do entrepreneurs protect their ideas?
Patents, trademarks and copyrights are the frontrunners in protecting your ideas and business interest. Many of you might be into developing new mobile apps and software applications. Patents and trademarks help to prevent other parties from attempting to profit from your creations. You can protect your original work related to computer software, literary, drama, pictures, photographs, music, sculptural works, choreography, architecture, or audiovisuals by claiming copyrights.
Copyright is a legal right that grants the creator with exclusive rights to its use and distribution. However, copyright protection is not applicable to ideas or concepts because it protects the expression of an idea but not the idea itself.
Do you have something original or created by you in a tangible form! Bingo. Use a copyright symbol ©and it is copyrighted now.
Here are few exceptions to copyrights protection:
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a)Titles, names, short phrases, slogans, which are covered under trademark protection
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b)Mere listings such as ingredients and phone numbers
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c)Works that contain no original authorship such as calendars or rulers
If someone uses, reproduces, distributes, displays or performs your copyrighted work without seeking permission, it is a case of copyright infringement.