The question I get most often is regarding the different categories of intellectual property. It can be very confusing to understand what the different areas of intellectual property cover. Many people ask if they can trademark their patent. Or patent their copyright. Or copyright their trademark. So what are the categories and what do they cover?
First, intellectual property is the broad category that covers any property that is not tangible including the rights to an invention (patents), the rights to copy and display one’s own artwork (copyrights), and the right to advertise one’s business under a trade name (trademarks).
Inventions are covered by patent law. Patents may be granted for anything that is useful, novel, and non-obvious. In order to obtain patent protection, an inventor must apply for a patent in The United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Copyrights cover any original work of authorship. This may include photographs, drawings, painting, screenplays, choreography, poems, sculptures, or anything else that can created in a tangible form of expression. Copyright gives the author of the work the ability to copy or display or make derivative works of his or her own work of authorship. It attaches immediately, but one may consider registering the work with the Copyright Office.
Trademarks protect any thing that serves to identify the source of goods and services. This is typically a business name or logo or slogan, but it can be anything. For example, it can be the green and yellow color of tractors (John Deere). It may be a scent or it may even be a sound such as Darth Vader’s breathing or the chimes on NBC. Trademarks may be protected by common law, but it is typically recommended that one register their trademark with The United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The last area of intellectual property is called trade secrets and these are exactly what they sound like. It is any information that gives a business a competitive advantage that is held confidentially. There is no registration of a trade secret, but as soon as the information is not confidential, the trade secret protection disappears. Information can typically be kept confidential through use of non disclosure agreements.
So can you trademark a patent, patent a copyright, or copyright a trademark? Well you can trademark the name of a business selling a patented product. You may be able to patent software that is covered by copyright. And you can copyright a trademarked logo as long as the logo is an original work of authorship. As it turns out, there are some overlaps in the different categories, but not that many.
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