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How can Californians protect their intellectual property?

The human mind is capable of creating practical tools, works of art and solutions to problems. Known as intellectual property, people in California and elsewhere may seek to profit from such collections of concepts and ideas. In order to maintain an edge over the competition, it may be important for people to protect their intellectual property. They may accomplish this by using trademarks, patents or copyrights.

Trademarks

Businesses often use distinctive logos, symbols, slogans and other things to identify themselves and their goods and services. To prevent the unauthorized use of such intellectual property, companies may register these types of things as trademarks. Doing this provides them with civil cause to take legal action if their marks are used for false advertising or false designation of origin. This may help them ensure the genuineness of the products that are sold under their name so they do not lose out on sales or reap the negative effects of poorer quality products.

Patents

People often come up with new or improved designs, processes, plants, machines and other manufactured items, which they may choose to make, use or sell for profit. In such situations, inventors may obtain patents to keep others from also capitalizing on their inventions. A patent grants the property right for the invention to the inventor for a term of 20 years, and may include an option to renew.

Not all inventions are eligible for patents. In order to qualify, the process, method or invention must be non-obvious, useful and novel. Inventors must provide a full, detailed disclosure of their work to the public in order to obtain this protection.

Copyrights

Whether published or not, people may try to trade on another’s original works of authorship. Therefore, artists and authors may seek to protect their literary, dramatic, musical and other artistic works. People may prevent others from reproducing or otherwise using their original works through copyrights. Although they must register their work to take legal action for copyright infringement, copyright protection exists from its creation.

Working with an attorney

In order to stay on top, business owners in California and elsewhere may want to protect their little something special, which may include more effective designs, more efficient processes or otherwise good ideas. Therefore, artists, authors, inventors and others may obtain intellectual property protections to ensure their ideas and works are safeguarded. Consulting with a lawyer may help them to understand what options they have for protecting their intellectual property, and what rights those options afford them.

, a trial attorney, has won nearly every case he has tried or arbitrated. He lost only one jury trial and obtained a complete reversal on appeal. Mr. Wilson represents clients in business litigation and legal malpractice cases and was named in the 2017 – 2020 SuperLawyers Top 50 Orange County lists. Mr. Wilson is a California State Bar certified specialist in Legal Malpractice Law and can be reached at 949-239-0907; [email protected]; https://www.kleinandwilson.com