Protecting Your Ideas
Read Protecting Your Ideas: An Overview of Intellectual Property Law at tyla.org.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction .........................................................................................................1
A. What is Intellectual Property?.....................................................................1
B. What Are the Different Types of Intellectual Property?...............................2
II. Patents...............................................................................................................2
A. Obtaining a Utility Patent ..........................................................................2
B. Obtaining a Design Patent.........................................................................4
C. Employers’ “Shop Rights” to Employees’ Inventions ................................5
D. What Now? Making Sure Nobody Infringes Your Patent ..........................6
E. Avoiding Infringing Others’ Patents ...........................................................6
F. Online Resources for Further Patent Information ......................................7
III. Trademarks ......................................................................................................7
A. Getting Rights in a Trademark ..................................................................9
B. What Now? Making Sure Nobody Infringes your Trademark....................11
C. Avoiding Infringing Others’ Trademarks ...................................................12
D. Online Resources for Further Trademark Information ..............................13
IV. Copyrights ........................................................................................................13
A. What Can be Copyrighted? ........................................................................14
B. What Cannot be Copyrighted?....................................................................15
C. Who Owns the Copyright? .........................................................................15
D. What Can I Do With a Copyright? ..............................................................16
E. What Can’t I Do With a Copyright? ............................................................17
F. Obtaining a Copyright .................................................................................17
G. How Long Does A Copyright Last?.............................................................18
H. What Now? Making Sure Nobody Infringes Your Copyright. .....................18
I. Avoiding Infringing Others’ Copyrights .........................................................19
J. Online Resources for Further Copyright Information ....................................19
K. Frequently Asked Questions About Copyrights ...........................................19
V. Trade Secrets ......................................................................................................21
A. Protecting Trade Secrets ............................................................................. 21
B. What Now? Making Sure Nobody Misappropriates Your Trade Secret.........22
C. Avoiding Misappropriating Others’ Trade Secrets..........................................22
D. Online Resources for Further Trade Secret Information.................................23
VI. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................24
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