As any entrepreneur knows, the business world is often cutthroat. Companies are constantly trying to create the next best product, service, or brand for sale to consumers. In doing so, the focus often becomes making a profit on the product, service, or brand as soon as possible. However, what many businesses and entrepreneurs alike often overlook is making sure that their product, service, or brand is properly protected from those trying to misappropriate it and seize upon profits despite not putting in the time or effort to create the product or service or establish the brand. Such protection is accomplished through obtaining a copyright upon the written or recorded work or a trademark upon the brand. However, in seeking such protection, a flood of questions often arises: What types of items can be copyrighted or brands trademarked? What are the advantages of formally registering my copyright or trademark? What are the steps involved in obtaining copyright or trademark registration?
With such questions in mind, the Intellectual Property lawyers at Plakas Mannos are here to answer these queries and provide you with information concerning copyright and/or trademark registration to help ensure that nobody takes advantage of your work and infringes upon your rights.
First and foremost, it helps to identify the types of materials to which copyright or trademark protection may apply. In general, copyright protects original works of authorship, such as literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. Specific examples would include books, movies, paintings, songs, poetry, architecture, and computer software. On the other hand, trademark protects a brand’s identity. Examples would include brand names, logos, and slogans.
Accordingly, the next logical question becomes: How does one go about obtaining copyright or trademark protection? From a technical standpoint, a work is considered copyrighted as soon as it becomes fixed in a tangible form. Similarly, a brand name or logo is considered trademarked whenever the mark is first used in connection with the business and/or good or service it represents. However, whenever an individual or entity attempts to infringe upon and misappropriate the work and/or mark such copyright and/or trademark protection often becomes difficult to accurately demonstrate, particularly with the regard to the date upon which the copyright and/or trademark arose. For this reason, formal registration of the work or mark is paramount in securing appropriate protection for your intellectual property.
In seeking formal copyright and/or trademark registration, the benefits are numerous and become readily apparent. Advantages of formally registering a copyright include:
Similarly, formal federal registration of a trademark provides many of the same benefits, including the ability to bring an infringement action in federal court, validity of the trademark, and public notice regarding the existence of trademark protection and rightful ownership of the trademark. However, formal federal registration of a trademark also provides additional benefits that include:
In the same vein, registration of a trademark can also be obtained at the state level. While state trademark protection does not provide as many advantages as its federal counterpart, the main benefit of state registration is that it is relatively quick and inexpensive compared to federal registration. However, state registration only provides protection to use the trademark within the state and to sue for infringement in state court. With that being said, state registration does help to establish priority in the trademark should you choose to register your mark on the federal level with the USPTO at a later date. As a result, it is most advantageous to you to pursue both state and federal trademark protection.
Overall, the process for registering your copyright and/or trademark is often complex in nature. Both require submission of an application with a detailed explanation demonstrating your ownership of and/or rights in the respective work or mark. Such application undergoes a detailed review by the corresponding office in order to verify that all requirements have been met and that the applicant is in fact the true owner of the work or mark. This review often spans several months. For trademark applications, once the initial examination is completed and responses are provided to any questions, the trademark is published for opposition by members of the public. Should any opposition be made, proceedings will need to be held in which evidence demonstrating ownership and/or use of the mark in commerce is submitted. Assuming that you maintain proper ownership and/or use rights, a registration certificate will issue thereafter.
As a result of the complexities and considerations detailed herein, you should consider seeking counsel to advise you of your copyright and/or trademark rights and help process your registration applications, if desired. If you or your business would like more information considering registration of your copyright and/or trademark, give our Intellectual Property Team a call now at 330-455-6112 to see how we can help you today.
Gary Corroto is a partner and attorney who handles cases in a variety of practice areas, including intellectual property litigation, commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, commercial litigation, and others. Hunter Miller is an associate attorney focusing on intellectual property litigation, estate planning and probate, commercial litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and other practice areas.