If youve put a substantial amount of work into your business, then you will want to protect the fruits of your labor. If you don't want your competitors to be able to take what youve done and exploit it, youre going to need to take some steps to protect yourself.
1. What's In A Name?
Your business name is the first thing that your customers will see - it has to, therefore, be memorable and easily identifyable. If your customers know your name, then youve already won the first step to getting them to trust you and recommend you to others. You can register a trademark to protect that - a logo or word that distinguishes you from your competition. Coca-Cola, for example, is a trademark of the Coca-Cola Company - if I start selling my own drink and calling it Coca-Cola, or even something like Cocoa-Cooler, then they can sue and force me to stop.
2. More About Trademarks
A trademark doesn't stop with just the name of your business, but can also be obtained for the products you sell. If you have, for example, the blendmaster 5000, you can trademark the name blendmaster. Trademarks can not be obtained for common words. For example, Apple computer doesn't own the word apple. If you are going to get a trademark, however, be sure it's worth it, because they will cost several hundred dollars.
3. Extention Of Trademark
A trademark can be given away and usually only applies in the country where you registered it. Also, your right to use the mark will only last a set amount of years, usually a decade.
4. What Is Copyright?
A copyright is like a trademark, except it costs nothing. The moment you write, draw, or record anything, you have copyright by creation. If someone else tries to copy it without your permission, you can sue. This article you are reading right now, for example, has copyright, although the author (me) has chosen to give away certain parts of it for free. This applies to other things as well, music, graphics, etc. Please note that microchips fall under a unique classification of copyright law and the rules are not the same. Usually, copyright lasts for fifty years after your death.
5. Copyright Is A Right
If you want to give people permission to freely use and redistribute something youve made (like this article, for example), then you have the legal right to do this. You can even give up your copyright on a piece of work altogether, simply by writing on it that you no longer want to own the copyright. It's that simple. Chances are, however, that youll want more protection, not less.
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