What is the difference between a trademark, copyright, a patent and design registration?
139977
Trademark - a mark used in trade to identify your products as having been produced with your authority.\n\nPatent - protection for a physical invention or process.\n\nCopyright - The right to control the use and distribution of your original thoughts fixed in a perceptable form.\n\nThe Burger King has a copyright on the schematics for Burger King's flame broiling machine.  It has a trademark on the little Burger King logo in the corner of the schematic.  And it has a patent on the machine that one can build using the schematics.
939394
Legally, you can not modify an existing logo and copyright it. To copyright something, it has to be unique.  You can make a logo that has some similarity though.  As in how different a logo has to be, that is the big question.  This is highly subjective, and is often dependent on if another company would take you to court,  and from there, it ends up decided by who has the best lawyer.
1147064
This site is extremely helpful:\n\nhttp://www.uspto.gov/main/search.html\n\nBased on the number of Google hits for the phrase, I'd say it is public domain. Generally you cant register a common phrase.
604308
A trademark is a distinctive word, phrase, logo, graphic symbol, slogan or other device that is used to identify the source of a product and to distinguish a manufacturer’s or merchant’s products from others. In the trademark context, “distinctive” means unique enough to help customers recognize a particular product in the marketplace. A mark may either be inherently distinctive (the mark is unusual in and of itself, such as Milky Way candy bars) or may become distinctive over time because customers come to associate the mark with the product or service (for example, Beef & Brew restaurants).
637905
Patents are for actual devices, substances, inventions, processes, etc.  Ideas fall into the realm of copyrights, not patents.  There is an implied copyright on nearly anything you write.  You can also get official copyrights on nearly anything you write.
59659
Check out the Small Business Administration web site -- they're a great resource for the small business owner. I listed a couple of other handy links as well. The first two are specific to Austin/Texas.\n\nTry reading up on the subject -- check out Amazon, your local bookstore or library. \n\nPrior to investing your time, money & effort into a business name, it is strongly advised that comprehensive research be conducted to ensure that the name you're interested in is truly available. \n\nThis entails searching the pending & registered Federal and State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files. Then, if clear, you can decide if you would like to file for a Federal or a State trademark. \n\nResearch is needed to make sure your trade name is legally available, before opening, before expansion, before incorporation or before designing your logo. Similarities in sound, appearance and meaning affect you too!\n\nThere are 16+ million trade names in use in the United States. Similar names matter, if close in sound, appearance or meaning. Similar names in related classes, distribution channels and customer matter too. You are affected by Common Law use (14 million), State Trademarks (500,000) and Federal Trademarks (2 million).
102150
The other poster was right about some things but misspoke about others. This is best answered by the USPTO themselves:\n\nWhat Is a Patent?\n\nA patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. US patent grants are effective only within the US, US territories, and US possessions.\n\nThe right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention.\n\nWhat Is a Trademark or Servicemark?\n\nA trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms "trademark" and "mark" are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.\n\nTrademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office. The registration procedure for trademarks and general information concerning trademarks is described in a separate pamphlet entitled "Basic Facts about Trademarks".\n\nWhat Is a Copyright?\n\nCopyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly.\n\nThe copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.\n*********************************************************\nRE: Trademarks -- Their use is not indefinite as long as you continue to use the mark. There are deadlines to pay attention to -- between the 5th & 6th year of registration as well as at the 10 yr, 20 yr, 30 yr etc \n\nRE: Copyrights -- Yes, a copyright comes into existence once something is in a "fixed, tangible form," however, registering your copyright provides you with many rights that should be considered.\n\nHope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!
814815
To register a trademark, that's done either through your Secretary of State for a State trademark or the US Patent & Trademark Office for a Federal trademark. \n\nIf you are only conducting business in one state, then a State trademark is most appropriate. If you conduct (OR are planning to conduct) business in at least 2 states OR between the US & any other country, you can file for a Federal trademark.\n\nPrior to investing your time, money & effort into a name, it is strongly advised that comprehensive research be conducted to ensure that the name you're interested in is truly available. \n\nThis entails searching the pending & registered Federal and State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files. Then, if clear, you can decide if you would like to file for a Federal or a State trademark.  \n\nHope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!
584042
http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm\n\n\nThe official us patent and trademark office.
151600
You want to check with the Division of Corporations within your state, however another big concern is to also check existing trademarks with the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  Why you may ask?  Even though a company and its name, which are created by the laws of the respective state, may not be in direct conflict with any other company of that state, you may run into problems later with trademark issues of other companies from other states with similar names.  Trademarks are usually registered with the USPTO and they provide a search engine online at uspto.gov .  It is worth checking, to avert future lawsuits of trademark dilution or unsavory business practices with regard to trademark infringement of a company that you did not know had a similar name or logo, albeit you should have known in terms of the law when such trademarks are federally registered.  Remember, companies are created by each state, and your state will only check to see if that company name is registered in the state; so be prudent and check the trademarks of other companies!!!
576171
Determining if marks infringe can be tricky and each situation varies from another.\n\nThe general rules to keep in mind are:\n\n1) Are the names similar in Sound, Appearance or Meaning?\n\n2) Are the industries the same or similar to one another?\n\n3) Are the names confusingly similar to the average consumer? In other words, could customers be confused and assume that both companies are affiliated?\n\nHere's what the USPTO has to say about this matter:\n\n"The principal factors considered by the examining attorney in determining whether there would be a likelihood of confusion are:\n\nthe similarity of the marks; and \nthe commercial relationship between the goods and/or services listed in the application. \n\nTo find a conflict, the marks do not have to be identical, and the goods and/or services do not have to be the same. It may be enough that the marks are similar and the goods and/or services related."\n\nIt's best to contact a private search company or a trademark attorney to assist you in determining if this will be a problem or not.
870157
First go to your States home page and look for the business registry office - Usually the Secretary of States office (in your state of course) and do a name search, most have online services or you can call them. Then go to the US trademark office and make sure it isn't a trademark or copyright name. http://www.uspto.gov/\n\n\nIf both are unused, file it with your states registry office which is usually the secretary of states office.\n\nGood luck.\n\nMike\n\nHere is a cool program for naming a company/business I came across..  http://www.generatebusinessname.com
208011
Go to your local copyright office.  It usually costs around $30.00 to register a copyright, but you already own your work.
695334
All items are copyrighted upon their creation by their creator.  They are the ones that have the ability to say how something is to be used, copied or distributed.  The copyright holder can sell it, give it away or protect it.  \n\nIt is illegal to claim a copyright that you do not own.
11345
In the United States (and the law is similar in most countries), it isn't copyright that you need to worry about. Single words and titles aren't copywrited.  However, the word "entmoot" from the Lord of the Rings is probably subject to trademark protections, even though it may not be registered as a trademark.  The law can be complicated, and many tests are applied, but the basic question asked in trademark is whether the mark (in this "entmoot") is associated with the previous user and could cause confusion in a customer when the customer sees it used by the new user. That is, would someone buying a product with "entmoot" in the title assume that the product is associated with Tolkien/ Lord of the Rings because of the word.  I think they probably would, myself.\n\nThe US Trademark Office and Copyright Office have some useful information online if you want to pursue the question.  http://www.uspto.gov/main/faq/index.html
482442
Can you register it?  Yes, probably.  Will it do you any good?  Maybe not.\n\nBecause both products are software products, the other company could legitimately come after you.  Trademark classifications are generally done by the product or service itself, rather than by the industry of its likely users.  The key measure of whether your trademark is too close to someone else's is basically, "Is there any chance that a potential customer might be confused?"  Just the likelihood of confusion is enough to justify a claim of trademark infringement.\n\nI would consider contacting the other company before you start using a similar trademark.  If you can explain to them how your software is different and what steps you're willing to take to help avoid confusion, there is a good chance that they will agree to a contract with you that lays out your rights and theirs.  The contract should contain an "agreement not to sue", which is pretty common in trademark work.  That provision could require, for example, that the other company will not sue to enforce its trademark against you as long as you don't stray into its business-area.  Instead, you can agree to submit any disagreements to private arbitration, which is much cheaper than a lawsuit in federal court ($50k and up just to go to trial!) and which can be kept confidential.\n\nYour "hardball" position with the other company, in case they don't want to give you a contract not to sue, could be that you're going to use the disputed word, etc., in a way that will make it very clear that you're a different company selling a different product, which weakens their chances against you, and they would be faced with the cost and bother of taking you to court if they disagree.  You should know, though, that this would be a risky route.  Trademark cases are often settled at a preliminary, pre-trial stage, because just getting a temporary injunction forcing you to stop work can be a death-blow for most companies.  Add damages and attorney's fees (yours and theirs, if you lose!), and you're looking at an ugly gamble.\n\nI'd recommend using a locally licensed attorney who specializes in trademarks.  General practice attorneys usually don't know much about this area's tricky bits.  I hope that helps.  Good luck.
262393
Check out these websites:\nhttp://www.uspto.gov/\nhttp://www.centralcoastpatent.com/intellectual.htm\n\nCopyrights are registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.Go to this website:\nhttp://www.copyright.gov/\n\nGood luck.