Ask An Intellectual Property Lawyer
Link to Original Article: http://abizcareer.com/141417946/ask-an-intellectual-property-lawyer.html/2
Intellectual Property is a growing area of law. Every day, more people are choosing to safeguard their intangible constructions, designs and works. A good, detailed knowledge of intellectual property will allow creators to select the form of protection that is right for them.
Below are 6 frequently asked questions answered by an expert in the field, Mr. Pearnel P. Charles Jr., a Jamaica based Corporate Attorney with a Master of Laws in Intellectual Property Law.
1. What are Intellectual Property Rights?
Intellectual property rights are the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds. These rights may give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of time. The primary reasoning for intellectual property is to encourage innovation without fear that a competitor will steal or take credit for your idea without your consent. It is therefore important for the creator to protect their ideas.
2. How do I protect my ideas or inventions from others?
Your ideas and innovation can be protected through registration and the use of legal tools to ensure the confidentiality of your creative work and inventions during the preliminary stages. It is recommended that you retain the services of an Attorney to guide you and to develop the relevant non-disclosure, employment and confidentiality agreements to be used in all interactions in order to ensure the protection of any information you may choose to disclose to others.
3. What are the differences between trademarks, patents and copyrights?
A Trademark is a word, phrase, or symbol that identifies your product or service in the marketplace. It is basically your brand name that is used to distinguish you in the market and identify the source of goods or services.
A Patent is a legal instrument that describes the process to make your invention and confers a right on the owner to prevent other parties from making, selling, or using your invention for a limited time (generally 20 years).
A Copyright protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. This protection gives the owner the exclusive right to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, or perform or display the work publicly.
4. Why do you think it is important to get a federal registration for my trademarks, patents and copyrights?
In the United States federal registration generally offers a wider geographic range of protection and may also confer several legislative benefits including ratification of ownership through registration and making it easier to recover profits and expenses if legal action is taken to protect against infringement.
5. What is a trade secret?
A trade secret may be defined as your confidential business information, such as those method or techniques that would give a business or company an edge over its competitors.
There is no registration of trade secrets and therefore it is protected as a secret from everyone except certain key individuals within the business or company. Ensure that you have agreements with all parties to whom information is disclosed as legal action can be taken against them for revealing secrets in breach of contract.
6. How do I know what kind of intellectual property I might have?
Your attorney can perform a basic evaluation to categorize your intellectual property assets.
Also, you may explore performing an IP audit. This will provide a more comprehensive examination and evaluation of the new and existing intellectual property in your portfolio or business. This process will identify the various forms of intellectual property and reveal how best they can be utilized and protected. The goal is to reduce the risk of unwarranted exploitation and to develop strategies to improve the use of intellectual property assets.
Pearnel P. Charles Jr. is an Attorney-at-Law who is qualified to practice in both the United States of America and Jamaica. He obtained his Master of Laws (LLM) in Intellectual Property Law at The George Washington University Law School and was awarded the Thomas Buergenthal Scholarship.
For more information on these and other areas of law, please see Mr. Charles’ website at http://pcharleslaw.com/ or email him at info@pcharleslaw.com
Addresses: Jamaica: 20 ½ Duke Street, Kingston
United States: 6000 Turkey Lake Rd, Suite 112, Orlando, Florida
Contacts us now for a consultation and to discuss how we can protect your investments and represent your interest.