Intellectual Property Law Attorney Austin TX

Intellectual property is the product of one’s mind or one’s creative work such as a work of art, literature, invention, logo or method.  Intellectual property can be tangible or intangible.  The law protects the owners of intellectual property against use and exploitation by others.  Usually, these protections are granted for a certain period of time.  In order for intellectual property to be protected it needs to be recognized by the law as one of the types of intellectual property and may be subject to formal requirements.

Types of Intellectual Property

Copyright

A copyright gives the owner of a writing the right to use, license and otherwise exploit the work for a designated number of years as provided for by Federal law.  Writings, which now include video and sound recordings, consist of literary, artistic and musical works.  This protection is offered for originally authored works that can be expressed in a tangible format.  It also gives the owner the right to exclude others from using or exploiting his or her work.  Although one can have a copyright the moment they create an original work, the Library of Congress is responsible for registering copyrights.  Formal registration affords additional legal protections.  Copyrights are governed by the U.S. Copyright Act.  An example of a copyright is the exclusive right held by a recording artist to reproduce one of their songs.

Patent

A patent is the right to use, license and otherwise exploit an invention and exclude others from doing the same.  A patent gives an owner of intellectual property these rights in exchange for publicly disclosing the details of the invention.  Patents are issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and are governed by the U.S. Patent Act.  An example of a patent is the one held by Apple for the design of the iPhone.

Trademark

A trademark is a word or group of words, symbol or logo for use in commerce that specifically identifies the source of a good and distinguishes it from all other sources.  Trademarks are registered with the Federal government.

 Trademarks are issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and are governed by the Lanham Act.  Common trademarks are the golden arches of McDonald's and the check-mark used by Nike.

Service Mark

A service mark is very similar to a trademark but identifies a service and not a good.  An example of a service mark is the Greyhound or Amtrak logo. 

Trade Secret 

A trade secret is confidential information used in a business context, including a method, technique, process or formula that has an independent economic value.  In order to qualify as a trade secret, the material must be subject to reasonable efforts to keep it confidential.  Trade secrets are governed by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.   A good example of a trade secret is the recipe for Coca Cola.

Intellectual property issues are often complex legal matters.  If you encounter an intellectual property issue, such as the need to register a copyright or patent or your rights are being infringed, you should contact a qualified attorney.  Attorney Sanjeev Kumar can assist you with all of your intellectual property needs.

Intellectual Property in Business 

Most businesses fail to create an effective intellectual property strategy and as a result miss out on a range of benefits that intellectual property portfolio can provide if managed as part of the business. Some of those benefits include access to new markets, iteratively better products, new revenue streams, competitive barriers for others etc.

Most organizations view the use of intellectual property portfolio to be limited to one of the following two scenarios:

1. As a sword to suppress competition, or
2. As a shield to protect against claims of infringement by competition for fear of cross claim

To derive the best benefits intellectual property should be considered a key strategic asset class, as a proper intellectual property strategy enables the business to leverage the intellectual property portfolio in a much more profitable way. Although the sword or the shield are indeed valid strategies, they are by no means the only options available. The business should also consider the additional benefits that can be derived by including the following elements in an effective intellectual property strategy:

• Selling (i.e., assigning) the intellectual property rights to another enterprise in whose hands it would be more valuable
• Licensing the intellectual property, perhaps even to competitors if market type and size supports it
• Using the right as a vehicle to organize profit‐enhancing collaborations with competitors, suppliers, customers, or the developers of complementary products

In a similar vein, often a business entering a line of business that may implicate intellectual property rights held by others tries to invalidate the other's intellectual property rights through litigation, believing that to be the only option available. Although possibly an attractive strategy, it is not the only option. Other options available include: