Protecting an Intellectual Property is not simple. Human mind generates thousands of ideas which can be, in future, profitable or may turn into a valuable asset. To protect your idea so that someone else cannot steal it, four types of intellectual property rights were created which are: Trade secret, Trademark, Copyright, and Patent.
Protecting your intellectual property is very important. It sets your business apart from the competitors and may offer customers something different and this blog post explains why it is important to protect your intellectual property.
We have given the details about these rights to make it more clear, let’s have a look at them.
1. Trade Secret: It is valuable and confidential information or strategy which can bring the economy or advantage to your business. Trade secrets are not covered by the Government or registered with the Government. All you need is not to disclose it to anyone or take necessary actions to maintain its privacy.
The most common protection of the Trade Secret is the Non-Disclosure Agreement. This protection lasts until the information isn’t valuable, or it is disclosed publicly, or the owner doesn’t take any necessary steps to keep it secret.
Example :
- A business idea.
- Marketing strategy.
- A formula of a recipe.
- Any construction related design.
A trade secret must be designated before it is leaked. So, protect your trade secret. Use agreements to protect it from your business partner or employee. Treat your valuable idea as a trade secret.
2. Trademark: You need to protect your brand so that you don’t need to waste your time and money after knowing that someone else has already invested with a similar trademark as yours. This is what trademark protection does. It protects your brand. It can be a word, symbol, sound, phrase or a color pattern.
To protect your trademark, it is suggested to register a trademark at your local or national Government office which is responsible for trademark registration. And always remember to renew your trademark to keep it protected for the long term.
3. Copyright: Copyright is an Intellectual Property right which is provided by the Government to its original creator. It provides legal rights to the following work values, for example:
- Writing work
- Web content
- A song or music
- Architectural work
- Drawing or painting
There is no registration of copyright, the creator automatically gets it at the moment of creation. The only requirement is that the work should be original. You can mark your work with a symbol, signature with the copyright symbol (© ).
4. Patent: This protection is given by a Government executive authority for a limited period of time. The time period varies depending upon the country but usually, it lasts for 20 years. To be patented, an invention must be new. It should be useful and have an industrial application.
Along with that, it should not be disclosed as any disclosed invention cannot be patented.
This system of rights contributes to the progress of inventions and other intellectual activities. There are inventions which can serve for improvement and other achievements.