INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Anyone running a business knows that your intellectual property is the lifeblood of your business. Whether it's a business idea or concept, a business practice or process, or simply a business logo, slogan, or design — these forms of intellectual property need to be protected to prevent others from using them without your permission. Typically, most intellectual property law falls under one of four categories:

• Patent Infringement - This is when someone sells, attempts to sell, or otherwise uses a patented asset without the owner's permission for commercial or other purposes.

• Trademark Infringement - This is when someone uses a distinctive word, phrase, symbol, logo, or sign that has been trademarked by its owner to identify a specific product, business, or service without the owner's permission.

• Copyright Infringement - This is when someone uses the copyrighted expression of ideas that have been deemed as valuable intellectual property (such as software or literary works) without the owner's permission.

Trade Secret Misappropriation - This is when someone misappropriates the proprietary information, electronic data, or other information deemed intellectual property and uses this information without the owner's permission.

CAN'T I JUST PATENT ANY TRADE SECRETS MY BUSINESS HAS?

While you can patent any trade secrets that are vital to your business, patenting whatever trade secrets you may have will make that secret information available to the public, which will allow anyone — including competitors — to have access to that information. That's why it's important that companies use other avenues to protect their trade secrets without divulging any confidential information or trade secrets to the public. This can be done in a variety of different ways, including non-disclosure agreements and other security measures that can help companies privately protect trade secrets. Understanding how to protect this kind of vital and sensitive information is why it's so important to have an experienced intellectual property attorney working with your company to ensure your interests are properly protected.

HOW CAN I PROTECT MY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?

Our team of intellectual property experts at Cochell Law Firm can help any business protect their intellectual property by ensuring that it is properly registered according to the type and intended use of the intellectual property. Whether you need protection in the form of a trade secret, patent, trademark, or copyright, our firm is here to make sure your interests are looked after. If you need experienced litigators to prosecute or defend against the misuse of intellectual property, our team is also well prepared to help you face these challenges in court.