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Craft Show Items - Patents and Trademarks
By Natalie Goyette
These are similar to, but not exactly like a copyright. In
fact, a patent and trademark are a far more in-depth than a
simple copyright on your craft show items.
"A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to
the inventor, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. The
term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the
application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in
special cases, from the date an earlier related application was
filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. US patent
grants are effective only within the US, US territories, and US
possessions.
The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of
the statute and of the grant itself, 'the right to exclude
others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling' the
invention in the United States or 'importing' the invention into
the United States. What is granted is not the right to make,
use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude
others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or
importing the invention." (www.uspto.gov)
Therefore, a patent differs from a copyright in that it affords
you the exclusive right to make, use or sell your craft show
item and excludes others from doing so without your permission,
while a copyright prevents others only from copying your
designs. However, a patent is generally not appropriate for
forms of creative expression but rather for a process, a machine
or tool used to create a product or a composition of matter such
as a new metal alloy or chemical compound.
Considering the time, effort and cost to secure a patent, in
most cases for most craft show items, a copyright will suffice.
Patent fees run several hundred to several thousand dollars and
you will most likely need an attorney, so this is a costly
process. Again, check with other crafters, organizations,
attorneys and Web sites to find out what is best in your case.
Trademarks (and servicemarks)
"A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in
trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to
distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the
same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes
the source of a service rather than a product. The terms
'trademark' and 'mark' are commonly used to refer to both
trademarks and servicemarks.
Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a
confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making
the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under
a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in
interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the Patent
and Trademark Office. The registration procedure for trademarks
and general information concerning trademarks is described in a
separate pamphlet entitled 'Basic Facts about Trademarks.'"
(www.uspto.gov)
You may want to consider registering for a trademark if you have
created an exclusive name, such as "Cabbage Patch Dolls" or
"Hula Hoop." Since you can easily file online and the cost is
around $300, consider filing if you have a craft show item that
needs trademark protection.
About the Author
Natalie Goyette shows you how to make your craft show
business profitable in her best selling ebook:
Craft Show Success Secrets. Visit her site:
http://www.craftshowsuccess.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/12961.html
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