In our last post we discussed intellectual property and how it relates to copyright infringement. This week, we’d like to focus on how intellectual property relates to patents.

As we shared last week, the United States Patent and Trademark Office defines intellectual property as “imagination made real. It is the ownership of dream, an idea, an improvement, an emotion that we can touch, see, hear, and feel. It is an asset just like your home, your car, or your bank account. Just like other kinds of property, intellectual property needs to be protected from unauthorized use.”

The site goes on to explain, “Patents provide rights for up to 20 years for inventions in three broad categories:

1. Utility patents protect useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture, and compositions of matter. Some examples: fiber optics, computer hardware, medications.
2. Design patents guard the unauthorized use of new, original, and ornamental designs for articles of manufacture. The look of an athletic shoe, a bicycle helmet, the Star Wars characters are all protected by design patents.
3. Plant patents are the way we protect invented or discovered, asexually reproduced plant varieties. Hybrid tea roses, Silver Queen corn, Better Boy tomatoes are all types of plant patents.”

If your company invented anything in the above categories, it’s important to get it patented – this will help you protect your business’ future. eHow explains the process:

1. Determine what kind of patent you need.
2. Do a search for patents.
3. Get the appropriate application from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
4. Fill out the application with great detail.
5. Mail the application along with the $150 fee.

Do you want to know more about the patents and how they relate to intellectual property? Feel free to give us a call! We can help answer your questions and guide you through the process.

Photo Credit: BusinessSarah