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: Craft
Shows
Article Source: Hobbies
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