Copyright Law in Lexington, KY

Commerce Lexington promotes the advantages that business leaders in the city can enjoy. Its central location, high quality of life, and low costs attract entrepreneurs from many industries.

Even with these advantages, there is one critical element you need to consider; intellectual property. Applying for a copyright or trademark can be difficult enough. Protecting them from infringement is quite another. Either way, you will discover what you need to take on these critical tasks below.

What Is Copyright Registration?

Copyright registration offers the author of a piece of work in Lexington, Kentucky 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 Lexington, KY 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 Lexington, KY business people and brand owners often trademark:

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

The Office of the Kentucky Secretary of State handles trademark registration for businesses from Lexington. Your mark or service mark becomes enforceable for the five years upon approval. If you haven’t renewed already, the state will send a reminder six months before expiration.

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

Getting through the trademark process can take over a year for business owners from Lexington. The current processing times continue to increase due to a record level of applications. Correspondingly, you should do everything in your power to avoid actions that create delays. Some examples of best practices that a qualified attorney would know are:

• Completing due diligence to find potential conflicts between your mark and another

• Submitting specimens that the federal government will accept

• Pursuing a trademark that is too generic under current guidelines

• Identifying the appropriate party to take ownership of the mark

Registration processing times for copyright applications offer a broad range of expectations. For example, the U.S. Copyright Office can handle cases in one to thirteen months, depending on the circumstances. Most online filings that require some correspondence with a specialist will take 3.6 months to finish.

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

The value of your Lexington, KY 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 Lexington, Kentucky 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 Lexington, KY 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 Lexington, KY. 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 Lexington copyright attorneys  that can guide you through every step? We can even help you connect with an attorney across Kentucky 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!