A patent is a legal document issued by the government granting the patent owner the right to exclude others from making, using, offering to sell, or selling the invention claimed in the patent. Patents can be obtained for inventions which are new, useful, and unobvious to persons knowledgeable in the field of the invention. Processes, machines, products, or compositions may be patented. Trademarks Trademarks are typically words and symbols associated with a company's goods or services which distinguish them from those manufactured or sold by others. A trademark or service mark must be capable of indicating the source or origin of the goods or services.
Trademarks are identifiers.
Copyrights Copyrights protect the particular expression of a thought or idea in the form of words, music, computer software, choreography, pictures, sculptures, audio visual works, and sound recordings. Unlike patents, copyrights do not protect the idea itself, only the expression of the idea. Further, copyrights do not protect against true independent development by another. Trade secrets Trade secrets include information that is not generally known within the trade or industry and that provides a competitive advantage. Trade secrets must be maintained secret.