Can i trademark a business idea [New Data]

Last updated : Sept 7, 2022

Can you copyright an idea or concept?

Copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of doing something. You may express your ideas in writing or drawings and claim copyright in your description, but be aware that copyright will not protect the idea itself as revealed in your written or artistic work.

How do I protect an idea?

The five essential legal tools for protecting ideas are patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade dress unfair competition laws, and trade secrets. Some of these legal tools can also be used creatively as marketing aids, and often more than one form of protection is available for a single design or innovation.

How can I legally protect my business idea?

1. Register your intellectual property (IP) portfolio.
2. Monitor for infringements of your protected business ideas.
3. Enforce IP ownership and take down infringements.
4. Employ a brand protection software.

How do I protect my idea without a patent?

If you determine that the invention is probably not patentable, the most effective way to protect yourself is to have prospective licensees sign a nondisclosure agreement before you reveal your invention. This document is sometimes called an "NDA" or a "confidentiality agreement," but the terms are similar.

Should you trademark an idea?

Ideas cannot be trademarked. A person who uses a trademark in commerce has some common law rights. A mark may also be federally registered in the PTO. Some states also offer their own trademark registration systems, although federal registration provides the most protection.

Can you sell an idea to a company without a patent?

Yes, you can sell an idea to a company without a patent. However, the company needs to enter into a contract such as a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). Otherwise, they can steal your idea. Unfortunately, many companies will not enter into an NDA.

What is a poor man's patent?

A poor man's patent is essentially writing out a description of your invention and then mailing that written description to yourself. This postmarked envelope supposedly acts to create the date of your invention as the date this written description was postmarked.

How much does it cost to copyright a business idea?

Copyright is automatic and free once you complete the work. If you register it with the government, it costs from $35 to $400.

How much does it cost to patent an idea?

A patent attorney will usually charge between $8,000 and $10,000 for a patent application, but the cost can be higher. In most cases, you should budget between $15,000 and $20,000 to complete the patenting process for your invention.

How do you register a business idea?

1. Step 1: Incorporate your business.
2. Step 2: Register under Startup India.
3. Step 3: Documents you need to upload in a PDF format only.
4. Step 4: You need to mention if you need tax exemption.
5. Step 5: Self-certification of the following conditions.
6. Step 6: Get your recognition number.

Can a manufacturer steal your idea?

Ideas alone are not protected under intellectual property law. There are two primary ways that you would be able to sue the company for stealing your idea. The first is if you did, in fact, reduce the idea to a protectable form before telling the company about it.

Can someone steal my idea if I have a patent pending?

What Is Patent Pending Infringement? As soon as you file a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), your invention is "Patent Pending." Once your application is submitted, nobody can steal, sell, or use your invention without your permission.

Who to contact if you have an idea for an invention?

Visit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website and investigate any patents on items similar to the one you want to make. If you have questions or want to ensure your invention is legal for you to create and sell, consult an attorney who specializes in patents and IP law.

Which is better trademark or patent?

What's the Difference Between Patents and Trademarks? A patent allows the creator of certain kinds of inventions that contain new ideas to keep others from making commercial use of those ideas without the creator's permission. Trademarks, on the other hand, are not concerned with how a new technology is used.

Does my company own my ideas?

Typically, employers are entitled to all intellectual property created at/for their business, unless there exists a contract stating otherwise.

How do I sell my invention idea to a company?

If you happen to find a manufacturer that is interested in your invention, there are usually two options. You can sell your invention idea, or you can outright sell the invention itself for one large lump sum as compensation for your idea. The second option is to enter a licensing agreement.

How do I turn my idea into a product?

1. Step 1: Document It. Simply having an "idea" is worthless — you need to have proof of when you came up with the invention ideas.
2. Step 2: Research It.
3. Step 3: Make a Prototype.
4. Step 4: File a Patent.
5. Step 5: Market Your Invention.

What's the cheapest way to get a patent?

1. Do-It-Yourself (Draft it and File it Yourself)
2. Cost of Filing It Yourself.
3. Still To Expensive?
4. Cost of Filing It Yourself.
5. Fiverr & Other Low Cost Options.
6. If Budgets Allow - The Better Option Is to Use an Attorney.
7. The Cost of An Attorney.

How long does a patent last?

A U.S. utility patent, explained above, is generally granted for 20 years from the date the patent application is filed; however, periodic fees are required to maintain the enforceability of the patent.

Will a poor man's patent hold up in court?

Even under the old system, i.e., the “first to invent” system, a “poor man's patent” standing alone, i.e, without a patent application, was worthless. You cannot access the court system and ask a judge or a jury to enforce a right that the U.S. Government does not even recognize as a right.

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Thanks for your comment Lois Mateen, have a nice day.
- Randell Hearnsberger, Staff Member

first okay so I'm no malanga melody Moses I'm a host here at intellectual chocolate we have Miss Robinson here who is an attorney and a trademark specialist who's going to teach us about the things that we need to do as business owners I'm just addressing a question that I'm seeing here and says this was I thought this was starting at 1:00 p.m. and you guys started early will they be a replay of this yes if you're a student at the black business school yes they will be able to replay of this you do get access to the webinars after they've already gone live that's the first thing I wanted to address and it is 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time right it's 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time so maybe somebody missed that it was Eastern Standard Time so in the East in the United States it is 1:00 p.m. I'm not sure where you are right now but it's 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time but we could continue awesome so did they have any questions on the beginning any questions on that I'm not seeing any questions yet um we just have one person who just wanted to know about whether the there would be a replay and I answered that question that we would have a replay I did want to say I did want to just give an example even though he didn't solicit it that I actually know a person that started a hotel and called it I think it was called Travel Lodge or something like that and what happened was that they just thought up the name and start up a hotel built the building and did everything establish the decorated it and open it and what happened was they had not I would equate it to in the United States where if you were in let's say I live in the state of Massachusetts and I thought there's no travel lives in Massachusetts but it turns out that there's a Travel Lodge somewhere else in the country and that trademark covers the state of Massachusetts so that means that I'm infringing on their trademark now by with all this and then now I have to go through all the trouble of actually changing the sign of my new job it only changed slightly right but I still had to change the sign of my hotel I had to change all my brochures everything my advertising promotions everything and go through all those costs when like you said the first thing that I could have just done before I started anything was hire an attorney to make sure that my name was okay not just in my own state my neighborhood or whatever I know but everywhere else that can be affected by what I'm doing you are absolutely correct this occurs so much it's very frequent a lot of it's because we don't know we think that when we do our google search you do a Facebook search you do maybe an Instagram search oh I'm covered I'm good to go the problem is as you mentioned it's a federal trademark that means it covers the entire United States okay and with it covering the entire United States what about the businesses that does not have an online presence so when you did your search you may have searched google you may have searched you know Facebook Instagram but unless you was able to search every single business you know in the United States which we cannot you know let's just be honest we typically cannot and do not you will not know and to spend all of that money the time the hard work the building your brand your followers to didn't get a letter that says hi I own rights to that trademark and I'm requesting you to change your name stop using it great if you do not I will sue you that could be very heartbreaking so is that serious to check first I did I did see a question come in okay go ahead um so one of them is in the chat which was late the person who said we started it early but she did also want to ask and we also look up the company name on the federal trademark site and there's two questions okay great so you referred today United States I'm I call it the USPTO website yes you can look up a company on that website but understand that it is a direct hit what does that mean what it means is that when whatever you type into that website they are searching for exactly what you type and nothing else okay the reason that I recommend you guys are hire an attorney because not only can you not have the same trademark as someone else you cannot have a trademark that's similar to someone else that infringes on their service or product what does that mean if you go to the trademark website you type in apples but you left the ASL okay there's another company who have a trademark with the S you thought you was okay you're not okay and they only gave you exactly what you put into the website they're not going to give you anything that can be similar or confusing however when you fill out for the application they will reject your application because there's a registered trademark that's similar to what you're trying to register I hope that answers if not let me know so Carolyn says if you register your domain name on a website that enough that enough protection without getting a trademark no not really go ahead what was it I was just repeating the question if you register your domain name on a website is that enough protection without getting a trademark no it's not enough protection um the only protection that you're gonna get for your trademark is if you register it with the USPTO or you get a little bit of protection with common law rights okay and that's when without doing anything but I already explained how limited that is to your geographical location but registering jes your domain name okay you own the domain but you don't own the brand name and when you own the brand name now you're talking because if someone have your domain name right or if someone comes out with something similar you can possibly get them to stop doing that but just registering a domain name is it gonna you know give you the protection that you need to protect your company so it just protects your domain and nothing else really you want to protect your brand name whatever the name and here's the thing you want to protect I tell people protect what you are you will not be comfortable losing okay so if you are not for me are use an example true lawyer is the name of my law firm I am not comfortable losing true lawyer so a trademark is valid for that great um if you are not comfortable with losing it and starting over from scratch you want to protect it if it's something that you're like okay maybe I'm selling eyelashes right just for an example but I'm not gonna be doing this I'm just doing this to make a little money no big deal you may not want to spend the money to invest into protecting it but if it is a logo they you will not be comfortable changing or losing if it's a brand name didn't guess you like slogan you want to protect it okay um so the next question is from Alisha and she says I apologize that this hasn't already been covered how do I learn if my business name is already trademark protected I think we might have covered that in both minutes but that question says how do I learn if my business name is already paying my protective okay so I'm gonna do a very quick overview because we did already cover this the way that I reco

Thanks Joseph your participation is very much appreciated
- Randell Hearnsberger

About the author

Randell Hearnsberger

I've studied stochastic process at York College, City University of New York in Jamaica and I am an expert in public policy doctrine. I usually feel dorky. My previous job was tool and die makers I held this position for 31 years, I love talking about baseball and paddle ball. Huge fan of Ken Jeong I practice paintball and collect crater critters.