Intellectual Property

---

Intellectual property or commonly referred to as IP is an area of law relating to different and distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive legal rights are recognized. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. The pertinent types of intellectual property include trademarks or service-marks, copyrights, and patents.

Trademarks

A trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products and/or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.  In essence, trademarks serve to identify a particular business as the source of goods or services. 

The two symbols associated with U.S. trademarks are ™ (the trademark symbol) and ® (the registered trademark symbol), and they represent the status of a mark and its level of protection. While ™ can be used with any common law usage of a mark, ® may only be used by the owner of a mark following registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Copyrights

A copyright is a set of exclusive legal rights that may be granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. Copyright does not protect ideas, only their expression. Copyright owners have the right to exercise control and discretion over copying and other exploitation of the works for a specific period of time, after which the work is said to enter the public domain. Uses covered under limitations and exceptions to copyright, such as fair use, do not require permission from the copyright owner. All other uses require permission. Copyright owners can license or permanently transfer or assign their exclusive rights to others.

Patents

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention. In general, the term patent usually refers to an exclusive right granted to anyone who invents any new, useful, and non-obvious process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, and claims that right in a formal patent application.

Our Role

Whether you want to file a copyright, a trademark, or patent a new idea, the Law Office of Parti & Oliveira can provide you with practical and effective legal advice.