Copyrights, Patents And Trademarks For The Uninitiated

-- Why NDA's are only binding if there is a paper trail

-- What legal differences exist between patents and NDA's

What is a Patent?

A patent is a piece of paper.

Patents represent rock-solid proof of ownership of an idea. Just go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Fill out the patent application. The Patent is one way. An NDA is another. But an NDA is nowhere near as powerful as a patent.

Whereas a patent is a federal document proving ownership of an idea, an NDA is simply a contract between two people. A patent, of course.

You go to Dishonest Dan, a widget manufacturer and have him sign an NDA before you reveal your big idea. You have a very solid case if you sue him.

Patents provide proof that you own the idea entirely. Today, many people tend to be confused on what copyright, patent and trademark is all about. Patenting, copyrighting and trademarks are all in the intellectual property law. Trademark registration, patenting, and copyrighting are all handled by the United States Patent and Trademark Office or PTO. In the trademark registration process, you have to present your trademark symbol to the PTO. Although the process for trademark registration is shorter than patenting an invention, you have to consider that it will also take some time. If your trademark symbol contains a lot of similarities with other trademark symbol that is already registered, it will usually be refused.These are the basics in patent, copyright and trademarks.