Copyrights, Trademarks, Patents & Trade Secrets: Protecting Your Idea - How To Start A Business

Summary

The presenter explains four forms of intellectual property (IP) protection and argues that startups should prioritize the protections relevant to their business—without letting legal work distract from finding customers.

IP basics

• Copyright: Covers original works of authorship, such as books, movies, and written material. The presenter says copyright arises when a work is created. He cites federal registration at approximately $35 per work, noting that registration may help an owner claim greater damages if infringement occurs.
• Trademark: Protects a business name, logo, designation, or short phrase. TM signals a claim to a mark; ® indicates a federally registered trademark, as in the presenter’s Coca-Cola example.
• Patent: Covers an invention or process. The presenter recommends involving a business attorney, especially for technical or specialized inventions.
• Trade secret: Protects valuable information or processes kept confidential. Coca-Cola’s formula is the example given.

Recommended startup playbook

• Clear your business name early. Search for existing marks before investing heavily in a name, logo, marketing materials, or website URL. The presenter recommends Trademarkia as a search tool and suggests consulting a business attorney when needed.
• Assess trademark conflicts by market and similarity. The key question is whether a mark is sufficiently confusingly similar to another mark in a similar space. For example, a phone-based credit-card reader named “Squared” could potentially conflict with Square.
• Prioritize patents selectively. The presenter’s rule of thumb is that first-time entrepreneurs building websites or ordinary businesses should not make patents an early focus—he estimates this applies 999 times out of 1,000. A genuinely novel, defensible technical breakthrough, such as a new process for desalinating water, is a stronger case for pursuing a patent.
• Focus first on customers and execution. Patents alone do not validate a business. The presenter would rather see happy, engaged customers using a product they want than a portfolio of patents with no customers.
• Protect confidential processes where relevant. Keep trade secrets confidential, particularly when they could provide a competitive advantage.

Business risks and metrics mentioned

• Trademark disputes can force a costly rebrand. A name or URL may need to change after six months, one year, or two years of investment in the business.
• Registration cost cited: About $35 per copyrighted work for federal registration, according to the presenter.
• No revenue, margin, CAC, LTV, or growth targets are discussed.

Presenter and sources mentioned: Jason Nazar (Docstoc); Google Search, LegalZoom, Trademarkia, and business attorneys.