Trademarks also exist at the state level. In New Mexico, an entity can apply for trademark protection. A trademark registered with the State of New Mexico protects the owner's interest in the mark within the state, but not outside of it. It is important to note that trademarks exist once a business uses a term as a reference for its particular product or service. Copyrights protect original works of authorship, such as the layout of a restaurant menu, an architectural drawing or a web page.
Copyrights exist at the moment an original work of authorship is created and written down.
In other words, as soon as the author puts pen to paper or the computer programmer types his code, a copyright exists. Federal registration is not required. One must remember that copyrights do not protect ideas, but rather protect the expression of ideas. Thus, it is how you convey an idea that is protected, not the thoughts behind it. A trade secret can be virtually anything that a company desires to keep secret and which gives the company a competitive advantage.