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| Protecting
Your Business |
As a
new small business owner, you need to give some thought to
protecting yourself. Your first step is to talk to your insurance
agent or broker about your options. At some point, depending
upon your circumstances, you may need to discuss your options
with your lawyer. To help you figure out what to do next,
take a look at either of the following:
As a new business owner in the United States, you will have
to protect yourself as |
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well
as your business. The law also makes it mandatory for all businesses
to buy insurance coverage.
Read
more about buying an insurance policy for your business.
Patents,
Copyrights and Trademarks
Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks, collectively known as
Intellectual Property, refer to the rights associated with the intangible
concept or knowledge about a product or process with which you are
entering the market. There might be a concern to your business if you
are using a process that was created by someone. Intellectual
Property law in the US is highly complex and is beyond the scope of
this article. If you require further information, you may visit
or consult an attorney.
Below is a short description on each of these areas.
Patent: The US government offers a grant of right to the
inventor. The patent right allows the inventor to exclude others
from making or using the invention for a period of time, usually
17 years.
Trademark: A right to use a specific name, word, phrase,
symbol, logo, design1, color, sound or a combination of any of these.
The trademark must be sufficiently unique to identify and distinguish
the product or service from others. However, generic product names
like calculator, coffee, computer or tea is not allowed.
Copyright: A copyright is identified by the symbol ©.
A copyright is to restrain the right to reproduce a certain if the
work is in a fixed form. To enforce a copyright, the copyrighted
work must be registered with the federal government. Term of a copyright
is usually 70 years. |
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