What is Intellectual Property and Does My Business Need It?

By Candi Obrentz, Our New York SCREAMER

Intellectual property (“IP”) is the ownership of a creation and refers to any product of the human intellect that the law protects from unauthorized use by others.  The 3 main types of IP are a trademark, patent, and copyright.  

Trademark. This protects any name, word, slogan, symbol, design, and/or image that identifies a business or brand and distinguishes it from others. 

Patent. There are 3 types of patents: Utility, design, and plant (this is not a joke – plant patents are not common, but they do exist). A utility patent protects inventions with a new or improved function. A design patent protects a new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. A plant patent protects new and distinct, asexually propagated plants. 

Copyright. This protects original works of authorship like books, songs, articles, plays, photographs, sculptures, choreography, architectural works, sound recordings, motion pictures & other creative works. A work must be in a fixed, tangible form to be protected.

My business CEO Enterprises, LLC owns a design patent on my invention RestoPresto® and the actual name is trademarked (as reflected with the “®”).  I tend to err on the side of caution and was resolute about protecting my product creation as much as possible so I did my homework, retained attorneys and invested in IP.  I strongly suggest that all business owners proactively engage lawyers for any issues that they cannot handle on their own. With respect to trademarks, patents and copyrights (oh my), there are so many things to consider like searches, applications, United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) laws and regulations in addition to knowing how to be both offensive and defensive that having an expert “on your Team” is always a good idea and should make the important legal issues clearer and less intimidating for you.