Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual Property

Property resulting from intellectual creative processes.

Trademark

A distinctive word, symbol, sound, or design that identifies the manufacturer as the source of particular goods and distinguishes its products from those made or sold by others.

Trademark Dilution

The unauthorized use of a distinctive and famous mark in a way that impairs the mark's distinctiveness or harms its reputation.

Service Mark

A mark that is used to distinguish the services (rather than products) of one person or company from those of another.

Certification Mark

A mark used by one or more persons, other than the owner, to certify the region, materials, mode of manufacture, quality, or other characteristic of specific goods or services.

Collective Mark

A mark used by members of a cooperative, association, union, or other organization to certify the region, materials, mode of manufacture, quality, or other characteristic of specific goods or services.

Trade Dress

The image and overall appearance of a product.

Trade Name

A name that a business uses to identify itself and its brand. A trade name is directly related to a business's reputation and goodwill, and is protected under trademark law.

License

An agreement by the owner of intellectual property to permit another to use a trademark, copyright, patent, or trade secret for certain limited purposes. In the context of real property, a revocable right or privilege to enter onto another person's land.

Royalties

Payments made by a licensee to a licensor as part of an agreement for the ongoing use of the licensor's trademarked asset.

Patent

A property right granted by the federal government that gives an inventor an exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention in the United States for a limited time.

Copyright

The exclusive right of an author or originator of a literary or artistic production to publish, print, sell, or otherwise use that production for a statutory period of time.

Trade Secret

A formula, device, idea, process, or other information used in a business that gives the owner a competitive advantage in the marketplace.