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It is Vital to Protect Your Intellectual Property
[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Intellectual property consists of inventions or ideas that you have created, these are usually unique and provide you with an economic benefit. Your intellectual property can come in many forms including inventions, designs, original works of authorship and trade secrets.
So how do you protect your most valuable asset? These are the 3 best ways to protect your intellectual property:[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
1. Get a Patent
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Patents provide 20 years of protection from filing date and can be applied for at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Patents are rights, granted by the United States to an inventor. These rights exclude others from making, using, selling or importing an invention throughout the United States without the inventor’s consent.
Patents take a few different forms including:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner]UTILITY PATENT:Utility patents are the most common type of patent and protects the functional aspects of an invention. These are generally more expensive and take a longer to receive patent protection (usually 2-3 years). We suggest this approach as it is a more secure protection. It will also make it easier to sell and license the invention or idea later.DESIGN PATENT: Design patents are less common than the utility patent and are used for the designs of manufactured items. These are generally cheaper than utility patent and are usually faster patent protection. (usually 1-2 years). We don’t consider this patent as efficient as the utility patent but can become very useful when used in combination with the utility patent.[vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”4402″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]
2. Copyrights
[/vc_column_text]Copyrights automatically attach to original works, but they can also be registered at the U.S. Copyright Office. Copyrights can last 70- 120 years depending on the date the work was published.Copyrights provides protection for original works of authorship. These include musical, literary dramatic, and artistic, whether published or unpublished.[vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”4492″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]
2. Trademarks
[/vc_column_text]Trademarks protects words, slogans, symbols, designs or a combination of these elements which identifies and distinguishes the goods and services of the company. Once the trademark or service is registered the registration is good for 10 years.[vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”2062″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Keep in mind you can never act too early. Be sure to fully understand how to protect your Intellectual Property if you’re are starting up a company and if you are in a rush to get a product or service to market. Failure to do so can be expensive and dangerous to your company.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Not sure where to start? While we’re not lawyers, the experts at Lime Design work alongside highly experienced patent attorneys on a daily basis. Read our article “Find a Patent Attorney: Your Ultimate Checklist”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_cta h2=”Talk to a Product Engineer About Your Idea” add_button=”bottom” btn_title=”Contact Lime Design” btn_color=”green” btn_i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-envelope” btn_link=”url:%2Fcontact-us%2F||” btn_add_icon=”true”]Let’s setup a time to talk about how to protect your idea.[/vc_cta][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]
Or, You can Fill Out the Form Below
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