Protecting Intellectual Property

Intellectual property is protected in one of four ways: patents, trademarks, copyright and trade secret.

Patents: A patent is a right granted by a government to an inventor. It gives the inventor the exclusive right, for a limited period, to stop others from making, using or selling the inventor's product without the permission of the inventor.

Trademark: A trademark is a name, symbol or other device that identifies a product, officially registered and legally restricted to the use of its owner or manufacturer.

Copyright: A copyright is a legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, publisher, artist or distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic or artistic work.

Trade Secret: A trade secret is a secret formula, method, or device that gives one an advantage over competitors. While patents, trademarks and copyrights are legally filed for, the responsibility for protecting a trade secret rests solely on the owner or enterprise.