Copyright Law in Rhode Island

Rhode Island entrepreneurs can spend years of their lives crafting the intellectual property of their designs and trademarks. However, you may encounter someone infringing upon your rights. You could also be accused of infringing upon the rights of another. In these cases you may want to seek out the experience of a copyright attorney in Rhode island.

What Is Copyright Registration?

Copyright registration offers the author of a piece of work in Rhode Island some protection from those who attempt 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. Technically, a piece of work doesn’t require copyright registration for protection under the US copyright law. However, you should register your product in Rhode Island with the help of a copyright lawyer. This can offer you several unique advantages. By doing this you can:

• Protect 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 is 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 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 Secretary of State of Rhode Island offers access to a trademark database. One that inventors and entrepreneurs can access in order to do the proper research to ascertain whether or not their mark is eligible for trademark protections. The USPTO also offers up basic facts and courses so that you can familiarize yourself with the entire trademark process.

When filing your application you’ll want to be certain that you provide everything necessary. Any mistakes can cause delays in the process, which delays you receiving your trademark. You’ll need to provide samples of the mark in use along with your product, as well as paying the $50 non-refundable filing fee in the state.

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

The United States Patent and Trademark Office states that receiving your trademark at the national level can take up to 18 months, especially if any part of your application is called into question. However, the timeframe is shortened if you run a small business and plan on only using the trademark within the state. For such a trademark as this, the time is generally 4 to 6 months before receiving approval.

Forbes states that you do not have to hire an attorney when filing for your trademark, but you should seriously take it into consideration. Your brand is vital to your business, and should be taken very seriously when deciding how to protect it. So it may be in your best interest, as well as the best interest of your brand, to hire an experienced Rhode Island copyright attorney to help you through this process.

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

The value of your Rhode Island 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. Because of this, if people use those assets without your permission, you can and should file a lawsuit against them for infringement under copyright law.

While trademarks and copyrights protect intellectual property, they cover two different aspects. Copyright registration protects artistic and literary works, such as videos and books. On the other hand, a trademark registration protects brand components. This could 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 of the magazines that you have published.

Work With an Experienced Rhode Island 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.

Rhode Island copyright lawyers 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 help determine the value of the intellectual property that you own.

An intellectual property lawyer also assesses the quality of the assets. They will look at the number of assets licensed under your name or your business in Rhode Island. 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 Rhode Island copyright attorneys that can guide you through every step? We can even help you connect with an attorney across Rhode Island 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!