The Differences Between Trademarks, Copyrights, and Patents
Your work and your craft provide a living for you and your family. Protecting that work goes a long way toward preserving your financial interests. Our team provides intellectual property services, including acquiring, maintaining, and enforcing trademarks. We want to help you protect and get the most out of your intellectual property (IP), but it’s important to understand the means available for protection. WHAT TRADEMARKS, COPYRIGHTS, AND PATENTS PROTECT These three registrations protect different innovations in different ways. To simplify: • Trademarks protect words/phrases, names, logos, sounds, and designs that differentiate the source of a product. • Copyrights protect original works like art, photographs, literature, music, and architecture. • Patents protect inventions, processes, and plants. HOW THEY ARE REGISTERED The registration of each IP will look different depending on the circumstance. Trademarks garner automatic registration regionally through common law trademarks. This provides IP protection in the immediate term while the mark owner officially registers the work through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
This process costs time and money and requires a strong trademark to secure protection. Work considered generic or likely to be confused with other previously registered trademarks will be denied. Patents go through the USPTO, too, but they require additional consideration before a patent is granted. Copyrights have their own registration office through the U.S. Copyright Office. This process requires you to file an application and pay the necessary fees. Depending on the circumstances, you may also begin to acquire copyrights immediately upon use. MAINTAINING A TRADEMARK, COPYRIGHT, OR PATENT Trademarks require renewal every 10 years but can last forever if the mark is actively being used commercially or has excusable nonuse. Copyrights depend on the date of first publication. For works created after Jan. 1, 1978, protection lasts 70 years after the author’s death. Anonymous work or work done for hire lasts 95 years after the first year of publication or 120 years after the year of its creation, whichever comes first. Patents last 14–20 years, depending on the type of patent. Once this date passes, the patent will no longer be active, and others can use the invention. ARE YOU ON TOP OF YOUR IP PORTFOLIO? Our team regularly checks with business clients to ensure their intellectual property portfolios are thorough, active, and not infringed upon. If your business needs a review of your intellectual property portfolio, contact Dahl Law Group.
Citrus BBQ Chicken
GET A HEAD START ON YOUR LEGACY INTERVIEW! Scan this QR code to request a FREE copy of our Legacy Interview questions. With them in hand, you
Inspired by FoodNetwork.com
Ingredients • 8 skin-on chicken leg and thigh pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce • 2 tsp ground cumin • 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika • Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/3 cups ketchup • 2 tbsp brown sugar
can create a precious gift for your children, grandchildren, and other loved ones that will preserve your memory for decades to come.
• Juice and zest of 1 orange • Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Directions 1. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag. Combine all other ingredients in a small bowl. 2. Reserve 1 cup of the sauce and add the rest to the plastic bag. Toss to evenly coat the chicken and marinate overnight. 3. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add remaining sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer to thicken sauce, about 10 minutes. Set aside. 4. On grill set for medium-high heat, arrange chicken skin side down. Cook until grill marks form, about 4 minutes. Flip chicken, cover grill, and cook until a thermometer inserted into thighs reads 165 F, about 20–25 minutes. 5. Serve with remaining sauce.
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” –Steve Jobs
3 tqdlaw.com | 916-545-2790
Published by Newsletter Pro www.NewsletterPro.com
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator