What kind of intellectual property do I need to protect my business?
In Georgia, it is important to protect your business’s intellectual property to prevent it from being used without your permission. Generally, intellectual property is made up of trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents. A trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator used to identify a product or service of a specific source from those of others. A trademark could be a phrase, logo, design, or other symbol that is used to identify a business. In Georgia, a trademark can be registered both federally and statewide. Trade secrets are the confidential information that your business creates or holds that give it a competitive advantage. It can be information related to a product, innovation, process, or formula that has value and must be protected from competitors. Trade secrets can be protected without registration in Georgia as long as you can prove the information is confidential and is not publicly known. A copyright is the exclusive legal right to make copies, license, and otherwise use creative works. Examples of creative works that can be copyrighted are books, movies, music, photographs, and software. Copyrights are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, and generally last for the life of the author plus 70 years. Lastly, a patent is a form of intellectual property that protects inventions. In Georgia, patent protection should be considered for any inventions that you own, and it is important to register a patent as soon as possible. Overall, a business in Georgia should evaluate which types of intellectual property protection is best for their business. Taking these steps to protect your business’s intellectual property will help protect it from being used without your permission.
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