• Includes detailed examples for each type of patent application
• Step-by-step guidance on protecting your intellectual property

Do you have a great idea for the next big thing? Worried about competitors stealing your hot new business concept? Don''t worry! Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks For Dummies covers all the fundamentals of intellectual property — including acquiring, registering, maintaining, and protecting your intellectual property rights. Make sure you''re the only person profiting from your hard work!

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Understand the paperwork
• Determine if your intellectual property is worth protecting
• Register trademarks and copyrights
• Hire an intellectual property professional to help you
• Meet patent requirements
• Protect your rights abroad

Having the great idea, creating the magnificent work of art, or coming up with the next fad is only the first step to cashing in on your creativity and hard work. Next up is protecting your intellectual property.

This book is for anyone who is intrigued by those three not-so-little words: patents, copyrights, and trademarks. That means you, i

li>You think you might be the next Thomas Edison or maybe another J.K. Rowlin
• Your company has recently developed a bold new corporate logo or eye-catching trademar
• You’re thinking of a new concept in software, one that can revolutionize the entire manufacturing proces
• You’ve just dreamed up the latest in “latest things”/ul>

  Patents, Copyrights && Trademarks For Dummies explains, in layman’s terms, the basic nature, function, and application of intellectual property (IP) rights, including how you can acquire those rights, wield them effectively against your competitors, or exploit them lucratively through licensing agreements and other rewarding adventures. This book covers all of these critical concepts, and more

  li>Working with IP professional
  • Presenting a patent explanatio
  • Determining what is copyrighted and what isn’
  • Protecting your commercial identit
  • Inspecting the basic elements of a licens
  • Determining infringemen
  • Avoiding the ten worst naming blunder

  With this book at you side, you’ll have a solid grasp of the processes involved in acquiring, registering, maintaining, and protecting the intellectual property rights due you and/or your company. You’ll be able to make informed decisions and speak confidently with the IP professionals you meet along the way. And you’ll have the tools and knowledge to take care of much of the work involved in the various research and registration processes