What is intellectual property?

If someone were to steal your television or your car, you would expect help in taking action to find it. You would call the police and inform them of the robbery. This would start a case and an investigation. In the end, you would hope to be reunited with your property and have it be your possession as it once was. Your intellectual property is just as important, if not more important than your physical possessions. If you believe that someone has stolen your intellectual property, you can take action against them. This can help claim your ideas as your own, just as you would claim your car as your own. In order to go through this process, talking to a professional attorney would be advisable.

Intellectual property refers to a non-physical element, such as the ideas that you have come up with in your mind. These ideas can be important to you as an individual or to your business. If you believe your rights have been violated, you can find a way to protect your intellectual property.

How can I protect my intellectual property?

In order to protect your intellectual property, there are ways where you can claim it. This will make it known that it belongs to you as your possession. As a professional in a business or in other matters, this can mean a great deal. No one will be able to use this idea without your permission or without paying you for your property.

A trademark is one way to make something your intellectual property. You can register an idea as a trademark which will give you ownership. At Stone Crosby, we can help you to maximize your portfolio of trademarked ideas. We want to make sure your property is protected in the best way possible. Once an item is trademarked, it needs to continue to undergo maintenance as its existence continues. Our professionals can help you with this process every step of the way.

When a trademark is secured, brand management needs to continue afterward. A registered trademark or logo must be maintained in order to prevent it from potential abuse. You do not want anyone infringing upon your trademark and the protection rights that go along with it. Attorneys can help monitor your domain name registration and the internet for anyone who tries to pass your trademark as their own. This can prevent the abuse of your property.

Copyright protection is a form that protects material on tangible mediums that gives exclusive rights to the creator or the assignee to publish, perform, film, print or record the registered concept. As do trademarks, copyrights need to be examined in order to protect them from unwanted use by others.

Another way to protect your ideas is to label it as a trade secret. Trade secret protection should grant access to this idea on a need to know basis only. This can include confidentiality agreements and policies to keep this secret out of reach. Licensing intellectual property proves to be a source of revenue for technology companies or other businesses. Agreements need to be made in order to allow people to use your idea in return for payment.

When thinking about your intellectual property, it can be confusing to decide what to do next about it. The paperwork can be complicated and continuing incidents can pile up. Contact our Alabama business attorneys for help and in case litigation is necessary, we provide representation up to top standards.

Stone Crosby, P.C. has proudly served clients in Alabama for over 100 years. Our firm has experience handling matters including divorce and family law, estate planning and administration, business law, employment law, class actions, consumer protection, business law, real estate law, among many others. If you require quality legal representation, contact our firm today to schedule a consultation.