Copyright Law in Colorado Springs, CO

The Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce states that the city ranks among the best places for businesses. Consequently, local entrepreneurs that pursue copyrights or trademarks have enjoyed tremendous success.

Are you prepared to take advantage of the same opportunities? Then discover what you need to jump-start your plans in our article today.

What Is Copyright Registration?

Copyright registration offers the author of a piece of work in Colorado Springs, Colorado some protection from those who try to steal their idea.

A novel creation receives copyright protection when it becomes fixed into a tangible form. Copyright law dictates how to establish this ownership. Additionally, it explains how to register intellectual property or defend against infringement.

Copyright registration is a type of public record for ownership. A piece of work doesn’t require copyright registration for protection under the US copyright law. However, you should register your product in Colorado Springs, CO with the help of a copyright lawyer, as this can offer you several unique advantages:

• Protects your work against the importation of copies that infringe the registration. Your registration will be recorded with the United States Customs and Border Protection.
• If your work is already registered in the United States, you can proceed with an infringement lawsuit; otherwise, you will have to register it first.
• The IP owner can seek damages and attorney fees if a copyright registration happens within three months of publication (or prior to an infringement claim).
• If a copyrighted work becomes registered outside of the three-month time frame, you may seek actual damages that you lost.
• Copyright registration will identify each public record of its existence. This action puts the copyright protection into public notice for the piece of work that you’ve created and/or own.

What Is a Trademark?

A trademark is a word, symbol, design, or phrase that distinguishes you from another company. Service marks are a type of trademark that a company will use when providing services to the public. Technically, trademarks are a form of intellectual property. It also forms part of the company’s brand, even if they no longer use it.

Here are some of the components that established Colorado Springs, CO business people and brand owners often trademark:

• Logos
• Symbols
• Product packages
• Name of the business
• Name of the product or service
• Designs

Registering a trademark starts with searching incorporation records from the Colorado State Archives. Companies in Colorado Springs have to ensure another organization has not taken a similar idea. If you have confidence in the novelty of your concept, you can file with the Secretary of State.

How Long Does It Take to Register a Trademark and Copyright?

Businesses from Colorado Springs enjoy a significant scope of protection with a registered trademark. However, the USPTO estimates that the registration process can be twelve to eighteen months. There’s also no guarantee that there won’t be a lesser-known legal reason to reject an application.

The government identifies the most common problems that applicants should avoid. Some fixable mistakes include providing the wrong specimens or registering a surname only. Errors that can lead to an outright rejection are:

• Designating the wrong party to be the owner of the trademark

• Incorrect identification of the goods and services

• Applying for a mark that already exists

• Having a generic concept

• Trying to trademark a common phrase

You can run into similar problems when you try to register a work with the U.S. Copyright Office. The average processing time for their procedures is three months.

What’s the Difference Between a Trademark and a Copyright?

The value of your Colorado Springs, CO business depends on the assets it owns. It’s important to note that the most valuable assets are not always physical or financial. Your intellectual property counts as assets too. Due to this, if people use those assets without your permission, you can file a lawsuit for infringement.

While trademarks and copyrights protect intellectual property, they cover two different aspects. Copyright registration protects artistic and literary works, such as videos and books. A trademark registration protects brand components. This can be a jingle, a logo, or a mascot of your organization.

Take, for example, if you own a magazine publishing company. You would trademark the logo and the name of your company. However, you would also place copyright protection on all the magazines that you have published.

Work With an Experienced Colorado Springs, Colorado Copyright Lawyer

Do you have an idea that needs protection under intellectual property law? If so, complete the registration process as soon as possible. There is always the risk that someone else might beat you to it. This eventuality can create complications when the time comes to defend IP rights claims.

An experienced Colorado Springs, CO copyright lawyer can help you uncover if anyone else has registered a similar idea. If your concept closely resembles another, it might get rejected. Consequently, it is better to find this early than to go through the process only to get denied later. In addition, an intellectual property lawyer will help you to draft critical documents. Or, they can determine the value of the intellectual property that you own.

An intellectual property lawyer also assesses the quality of the assets. They will also look at the number of assets licensed under your name or your business in Colorado Springs, CO. This evaluation can help to maximize the entire value of all intangible assets that your company has.

Are you ready to tap into our network of Colorado Springs copyright attorneys  that can guide you through every step? We can even help you connect with an attorney across Colorado state lines. 

Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced lawyer in your area!