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4 posts tagged Intellectual Property, newest first.
Copyright attaches automatically the moment you fix a work in tangible form. Registering with the U.S. Copyright Office is optional, but it is what lets you sue over a U.S. work and unlocks statutory damages and fees.
Register a trademark with the USPTO by running a clearance search, filing an application in the correct class with a use or intent-to-use basis, then clearing examination and publication.
"Patent pending" is the most misunderstood phrase in startup pitch decks. It does not mean you have a patent. It does not mean your invention is protected. It means you have filed a placeholder, usually a provisional application at the USPTO, which gives you 12 months to file the real thing. Here is what that 12 months buys you, what it does not, and how to decide whether the conversion to a full patent application is worth the $5,000 to $15,000 it usually costs.
Three forms of IP protection cover three different things. Pick the wrong one (or assume one of them protects something it does not) and you have spent money on a shield that does not cover the swing.