More and more today, surviving in a global economy means small businesses need to protect their intellectual property assets.  IP-related business is one of the greatest drivers of economic growth in the United States today–all the more reason for companies to tap in to that potential by patenting, trade marking, and copyrighting intellectual property as appropriate.

Unfortunately, with that growth in IP-based business and growth come added risks of intellectual counterfeiting, piracy, and outright theft.  Small businesses can be at particular danger because they often lack resources many large corporations have at their disposal.  While plenty of big businesses employ entire legal departments and/or intellectual property teams, small businesses can rarely boast the same.  In this situation, hiring an outside law firm that handles IP law can be invaluable, and provide a cost-effective method for getting the same sort of legal advice and protection that bigger corporations already have.

Patents 101: Patents for inventions are property rights granted to the inventor by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the USPTO).  The USPTO awards patents for new, useful, and non-obvious inventions and they run for a period of 20 years following the patent application’s filing date.  Keep in mind that U.S. patent grants only provide protection within the United States along with its territories and possessions.  Future articles will cover this topic in more depth.

Trademark 101: A trademark can cover any word, name, symbol, or design or any combination used–or intended to be used–in commerce that identifies and distinguishes the products of one manufacturer or seller from the products sold or manufactured by others.  Basically, trademarks are brand names used to set out one company’s products from another in the marketplace.  Future articles will cover this topic in more depth.

Copyright 101: Copyrights grant protection to works of authorship–including writings, music, and artwork–that have been tangibly expressed.  The Library of Congress registers copyrights that extend the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.  Examples of copyrightable works include books, movies, and musical recordings.  Future articles will cover this topic in more depth.

Just remember that it’s vital to give your small business the same advantages for success in today’s marketplace as larger companies.  Who knows, maybe patenting a certain technique or branding your company’s image via trademark protection may someday put you in the same playing field as the bigger companies–and smaller businesses will be looking at your company as an example of the right way to protect company IP.