Intellectual Property in the United States consists of patents, trademarks, and copyright. These can be valuable to entrepreneurs in a variety of ways such as helping develop and refine a product, providing protection for ideas, developing branding and marketing materials, and surveying competitors' activities.
Patents provide intellectual property protection for 20 years for inventions that are unique, useful, and non-obvious.
Searching for patents can be very helpful in idea generation, surveying the competitive landscape, and finding technical information on an invention.
Copyright provides intellectual property protection for intellectual works such as "literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works".
Trademarks are a unique word or symbol that helps distinguish a product, company, or service. Trademarks are registered through the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
