Image you bring your product to market, it is taking off like crazy and….  someone else with more money and more marketing savvy swoops in and takes your idea!  What can you do?   Stop it before it happens, that is what.

As you begin to bring your idea or invention to market, one of your first steps will be to protect your idea. There are three primary types of protection you can seek, depending upon what you are bringing to market.

• PATENT: A patent is protection for a product or new invention.
• SERVICE OR TRADE MARK: Trademarks and Service Marks are words or marks used by companies. Coca-Cola or the Nike swoosh are examples of Marks.
• COPYWRITE: A copyright protects items such as books, website content, and artwork. These items, when they are original work, are considered automatically protected by copyright. There is no need to apply for copyright protection.

For more information on how to apply for any of these protections, fees, and even online applications, visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office website at: http://www.uspto.gov/# You can even use this website to search for similar trademarks or patents.