John B. Edel
Baton Rouge Patent Attorney
(225) 302-8559
John focuses his practice on getting patents and registering trademarks.
Crisis Manager
As a father of four, John has developed expertise in managing the unmanageable.
Visit John’s bio page.
Baton Rouge Intellectual Property Lawyer
Intellectual property (IP) protects innovation, business reputation, and more. Patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and trademarks are the types of IP. Each has unique rewards and special rules. For example, a patent needs a complete disclosure of how to make and use the invention.
Rewards for your Creativity
Top Intellectual Property Posts
Patent Basics
Patent FAQ
Trademark Basics
Trademark Applications
Trade Secret Basics
Intellectual Property Types
Copyright Basics
Intellectual Property Videos
Types of Intellectual Property
Patents
New and useful inventions and designs
…
like:
- a drill bit that cuts faster,
- a new chemical,
- a new medical testing device,
- a new piece of industrial equipment or
- an ornamental design for a new product
The Edel Patents main page can help you decide pick from the many patent application types.
Copyright
Original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression
…
like:
- a new song recording,
- photographs,
- graphic design work, or
- a sculpture
Try Copyright.gov
The Copyright Office FAQ may help you file an application without an attorney if you need one at all.
Trademark
Markings or indications that identify the source of goods or services
…
like:
- a prominent logo on a product’s package,
- a stamped mark on a metal product,
- a mark used on an ordering page for a product, or
- a mark used in advertising a service
Get a fee estimate by phone or learn more at the Edel Patents Trademark Page.
Trade Secret
Commercial secrets that provide competitive advantage
…
like:
- a secret manufacturing technique,
- a secret recipe, or
- a corporate client list, or
- proprietary software
There is no application associated with trade secrets.
Ask John about how to protect trade secrets.
Edel Patents Intellectual Property Service Areas
- Catalyst technology
- Chemistry and chemical engineering
- Coastal protection technology
- Construction and industrial technologies
- Design patent applications
- Hunting and fishing patents
- Industrial equipment technologies
- Mechanical inventions
- Medical diagnostic technology
- Nanoparticle technology
- Non-provisional patent applications
- Oil & gas technology
- Patent licensing
- Patent maintenance
- Patent opinions
- Patent portfolio management
- Patent sales
- Patent searches
- Patent prosecution
- Patent strategy
- Pharmaceutical & nutritional inventions
- Provisional patent applications
- Recreational device patents
- Trade secrets
- Trademark applications
- Trademark clearance and prosecution
- Trademark maintenance
- Trademark portfolio management
… and more.
Rewards for Society
When a copyright term expires, the public gets free unlimited use of the work. When a patent expires the invention is free for all. The intellectual property creator and the public both benefit.
Constitutional Basis
In the words of the U.S. Constitution, our intellectual property system exists:
“To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;”
Patents
Exclusive Rights
- Make the invention
- Use the invention
- Offer to sell the invention
- Sell the invention
- Import the invention
The rights are intellectual property rights that you can sell or license.
Patent Types
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) grants three types of patents:
- utility patents
- design patents
- plant patents
See which one might best suit your situation on the Application Selector page.
A Baton Rouge patent attorney can help you start the patent application process. The Edel Patents frequently asked patent question page may also help.
Trademarks
Trademarks distinguish the source of goods and services. Trademarks are the brands that help you find your favorite product or service again.
People seek out the Nike trademark for shoes. People seek out the Apple trademark for phones and computers. These trademarks identify and distinguish the products from those of their competitors.
Trademarks are both business assets and intellectual property.
Trademark FAQ
More information about trademarks can be found on the trademarks frequently asked questions page.
Trademark registrations are one of the most effective ways to protect your brand. As a Baton Rouge trademark attorney John can help you with the registration process.
Trade Secrets
Trade secrets are valuable intellectual property because your competition does not have them. Keeping and building that value is the hard part.
Theft & Misuse
Theft and misuse are where trade secret battles begin. These are the acts of trade secret misappropriation.
Plan to Protect Your Secrets
There is no registration for trade secrets. But, having a process relating to trade secrets is very important.
If you don’t protect your secrets, courts will not protect them either!
Take these simple steps. The steps keep your intellectual property safe and they show diligence to the court.
10 Steps to Protect Your Trade Secrets
- Name the secrets you are protecting
- Label you confidential documents “CONFIDENTIAL”
- Secure access to physical documents
- Employee confidentiality agreements
- Control electronic access to secrets
- Write specific confidentiality procedures
- Use non-disclosure agreements with outsiders
- Name someone as responsible for trade secrets
- Train employees on what is secret
- Install a departing employee procedure
A World Intellectual Property Organization article describes the costly trade secret mistakes others made.
Penny Pinchers Avoid Court
The cost conscious business leader will install all ten of the protections above. Why? They work and they keep you out of court. 1-10 are cheap compared to intellectual property litigation.
Federal Trade Secret Law
The Defend Trade Secrets Act helps companies protect their secrets. It defines trade secrets and gives tools to protect them including:
- property seizure provision for businesses and
- possible punitive damages and attorneys fees.
The American Bar Association’s summary of the Defend Trade Secrets Act is a great place to start.
Copy and Paste Trade Secret Protection
Boost your trade secret protection with a simple notice. Copy and paste the language of a US law into your employment agreement. (18 U.S.C. 1833(b)) The BCLP firm has a simple explanation for the cut and paste.
Copyright Protection
Copyrights protect works of authorship but the phrase works of authorship is something that can be quite broad.
For example copyright can protect:
- literary,
- dramatic,
- musical, and
- artistic works, such as:
- poetry,
- novels,
- movies,
- songs,
- computer software, and
- architecture
Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.
The above categories and quote are from the “What Does Copyright Protect?” FAQ. The FAQ covers issues like “How do I copyright a name, title, slogan, or logo?” and “Can I get a star named after me and claim copyright to it?”
Copyright Infringement
Once you have a copyright, the act of infringement is the actual copying of the copyrighted work. The author or author’s assignee is the one with the right to make copies.
Should I Register?
Most people don’t need a copyright registration. But, if you want to sue for copyright infringement in federal court you need a registration.
How Long Does a Copyright Last?
The life of a copyright varies depending on the situation.
As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.
and
For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first.
(Quotes from the Copyright.gov Copyright Duration FAQ)
Outside of those situations the calculation is more complicated. You can look to the Copyright Office Circular 15a.
Copyright is Cheap
For intellectual property, copyright is cheap. If you skip federal registration it is free.
The copyright statute says:
Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. – 17 U.S.C. 102(a)
The essential requirement are then:
- Original Authorship (a poem)
- Fixed in a tangible medium of expression (written on paper)
Ownership Confusion is a Trap
Authors are owners unless they assign the work or it is a work made for hire.
Work Made for Hire Law
If your company relies on copyrighted materials make sure you own them. This is particularly important if your trademark has copyrighted material.
How Much Creativity is Required?
Not much. Copyright protects creative works. It does not take a great deal of creativity for a work to be considered legally creative.
Is copyright registration worth it?
Does Fair Use Protect My Copying?
Law (from 17 U.S.C. 107)
[T]he fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
(Emphasis Added)
These types of use help a fair use case:
- Transformative use
- Non-profit use
- Smaller samples
- Parody
- Newsworthyness
- Comentary & Criticisim
- Protecting the copyright holder’s market
The Digital Media Law Project has a better summary of fair use if you are concerned about whether the law applies.
The Cost of Not Registering
There is little penalty for not registering a copyrighted work. Others don’t have the right to make copies of your copyrighted work. If later someone infringes, you can still register.
If you want to sue, wait until the registration is complete. Once you receive confirmation of registration, then you can sue for copyright infringement.
Register for Litigation
If you expect litigation register the copyright.
Special statutory damages may be available for infringement of a registered copyright. In that case, attorney’s fees may be available also.
Avoid Fake USPTO Correspondence
Patent and trademark filings can reveal personal information. Criminals and tricksters use this information for intellectual property scams.
Genuine information comes from the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria Virginia. This warning from the Federal Trade Commission can help you spot a fake.