Copyright Law in San Antonio, TX

Designers and creatives in San Antonio give a good portion of their time and livelihood in order to bring new designs and ideas to the marketplace. In keeping with this, designers and creatives should also take every precaution to be sure that your intellectual property is protected from any bad faith actor. To ensure this protection, you may want to seek the expertise of an experienced San Antonio copyright attorney.

What Is Copyright Registration?

Copyright registration offers the author of a piece of work in San Antonio, Texas 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 San Antonio, TX 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 San Antonio, TX business people and brand owners often trademark:

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

San Antonio residents that are seeking trademark protection for their intellectual property will be required to file with the Texas Secretary of State. Make sure to do your research before filing your application, as any trademark that too closely resembles an existing protected mark will be immediately denied. When applying for your trademark, you will have to pay a $50 filing fee for a state trademark. However, the fee goes up if you are filing at the federal level. When filing a federal trademark application the filing fee is $325.

Your application must include examples of the mark being used with your business. Advertisements, letterhead, business cards, and even labels are all acceptable for your application. If you have any questions, it may be in your best interest to consult an experienced San Antonio copyright attorney.

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

Depending on the type of trademark protection you are filing for, state or federal, your wait time to receive a trademark can be anywhere from 4 months to 18 months. The longer aspect of this wait time is generally due to application mistakes. If this happens, someone has flagged your application for further review and it will contribute to your wait time.

My San Antonio reports that Elon Musk is behind a recent filing for a trademark in San Antonio. Tesla has applied for a trademark surrounding a new logo that is shaped like the state of Texas, and in the middle of the shape has the words Cyber Roundup. This filing matches another that Tesla has received for its events in Texas, titled Cyber Rodeo.

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

The value of your San Antonio, TX 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 San Antonio, Texas 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 San Antonio, TX 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 San Antonio, TX. 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 San Antonio copyright attorneys  that can guide you through every step? We can even help you connect with an attorney across Texas 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!