A patent gives you the right to exclude others from making, using or selling the invention throughout the United States for a period of 20 years from the date of filing a patent application. The basic requirements of patentability are that the invention be new, useful and non-obvious from prior patents and publications. A patent is a grant from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A trademark indicates the origin of the product or someone associated with it. The value of a trademark lies in the good will which is generated as the trademark is used and the public comes to associate a particular manufacture and standards of quality.
Trademarks can be a valuable asset to any business entity.
Trademark rights derive from use of the mark and exist for as long as the mark is used. Registration of the mark enhances the rights. Copyrights A copyright protects an original work of authorship. Copyright does not protect an idea, but the expression of an idea. The copyright owner has several rights, among those the rights to make and distribute copies and the right to make derivative work.