Step 14: Seek Proprietary Approvals
The Concept:
Reserve the names, technologies, graphics and documents intended for your exclusive use.
What you need to know:
It's said that a patent to "hang on the wall" is worth nothing to a business unless it is valuable in the marketplace. You'll need to evaluate patent/copyright and trademark opportunities to see if they will be secure and worth the investment. Make sure your concept (and its name) is available and that it can be protected. You can conduct a search to see if a name already exists on the Secretary of State’s web site (http://www.state.oh.us/sos/)
Which of the following proprietary approvals will you need?
Name Registration
Trade Name: A name used in business or trade to designate the business of the user and to which the user asserts a right to exclusive use.
Corporation Name: The name of a corporation can be formed only when Articles of Incorporation are filed.
Fictitious Name: A name used in business or trade that is fictitious and that the user has not registered or is entitled to register as a trade name. Any business name that is not on file as a trade name or corporation name must be reported to the Secretary of State as a fictitious name.
Product Registration
Patents: Provides the holder with the exclusive right to make, use and sell an invention throughout the U.S. during the term of a patent. There are three kinds of patents: design, utility and plant.
Copyrights: Protection for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. You cannot copyright an idea on the expression of the idea.
Trademark: A word, name, symbol or device (or combination of these) adopted and used by a person to identify goods made or sold by him and to distinguish them from goods made or sold by others.
Other proprietary approvals: Service mark, mark of ownership, internet domain names, web site copyright.
Points to consider:
What are the costs associated with obtaining your proprietary approvals?
What are the timeframes associated with the approval process?
Are the names, trademarks, patents and copyrights that are key to the success of your business secure?
Are you infringing on another name, copyright, patent or trademark? If so, adjust your strategy to make the needed changes. |
