This right covers the expression of these works, and not the ideas they contain. A work is protected by copyright the moment it is set down in tangible form. Copyrights can be registered with the Library of Congress's Copyright Office, but there is no requirement to register any copyright. In addition to obtaining patents, trademarks, and copyright, all of which include publishing the intellectual material to be protected, some business treat their work as trade secrets . A trade secrets is information whose owner chooses not to divulge it at all.
Trade secrets can last indefinitely, but require their owners to actively protect the secret.
Unregistered marks may not use this symbol. Back to Frequently Asked Questions Online searching The specific Cassis TM databases in the Engineering Library are not available online. However, there are several online services available which allow anyone with a computer and modem to search for patent and trademark information. Full-page images are also available from 1790 to the present. There are other online databases which are provided by commercial vendors and can be expensive.