Hey, I invented that first!
Hey, I invented that first!
Have you ever wanted to claim your creation as your own? Inventors may wonder how they should go about claiming their inventions or what they really need to do in order to maintain a copyright on these creations. Here are a few tips.
In order to be the creator of an invention and maintain a copyright, an individual must file for a patent or trademark through a designated office. A patent filing is not required in order for an inventor to be protected by law, but it will cost less and the process is quick and reliable. The patent filing process can be completed through the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the filing costs between $400-$600, depending on how quickly the inventor wants to be protected by law.
Copyrights are automatically given to individuals upon creation of works of art and literature, whether it is a painting, writing, or invention. To maintain a copyright on these creations, however, individuals must file paperwork in order to ensure that their product is not stolen from them.
The paperwork required for a patent or copyright consists of several forms with several pieces of information that must be filled out correctly and completely in order to receive the legal protection that an inventor may need in the future. The documents are available on the internet, which allows anyone to fill out these forms and protect their work from becoming stolen. There are several ways to download the forms:
1. Download them directly from the United States Patent and Trademark Office
2. Download them from a website that provides papers for inventions and copyrights, such as www.ecommerceplaza.com . This website provides all the necessary forms for inventors, including both patents and copyrights
3. Alternatively, an inventor may mail in an application with all of the necessary paperwork by US mail to the required office address of either: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington DC 20231 or the:
4. Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington DC 20559
5. The request can be sent through the mail [and] there is no charge for a filing
The form for the patent application is known as a provisional patent application and it consists of two parts: instructions and an actual application itself. The instructions inform applicants about how to complete the forms correctly and properly in order to protect their patents and their products from being stolen from them by people who wish to profit off their hard work or innovation.
The patent application (instructions included) consists of the following parts:
1. Title of the Item
2. Definition of the Product or Service – it must provide a description, illustration, and full explanation of what is actually being invented
3. State the Specific Improvement to the Product – give details on how the product works
4. Brief Summary of what is being claimed in this patent filing – about one page describing what exactly is being claimed in this invention and how it works in detail
5. Drawings or Photographs
6. Specific Description of the Improvement – details of how exactly the product works
7. Detailed description of what is being claimed – a more detailed explanation of what is being claimed in this filing, including a full explanation on how the product actually works
8. Claims
9. Abstract
10. Best Mode for Carrying Out Invention
11. How to Use the Product or Service – it must specifically detail what exactly consumers will do with this new product and how it was developed/created to be used
12. How to Make the Product or Service
13. How to Use the Product or Service
14. How to Make the Product or Service
15. Other Limitations – it must include a restatement of any other claims that are essential for an inventor to protect himself from being accused of stealing another's patent
The application for the copyright consists of three parts: instructions and an actual copy of the application. The instructions inform applicants about how to fill out this form correctly and properly in order to protect their creations from being stolen by people who wish to profit off their hard work or innovation. The instructions can be found here: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/MiscForms.htm .
The application itself consists of the following parts:
1. Transmittal Form – this form must accompany the application and it informs the United States Copyright Office that an invention or work is being submitted to them for copyright registration.
2. Application form (Form PA, Form SR, or Form TX) – this form, which is determined by the kind of work being presented for copyright, must be completed with specific pieces of information about what is actually being submitted for protection. All applications must include a Copyright Claimant Notification, an Information Release Form, and a Certification Statement from the applicant. The Transmittal Form states whether the application being sent includes music, photographs, or drawings.
3. Fee Statements
4. Certified Copies of the Application – this part of the application must be certified by two witnesses and it is signed under penalty of perjury. The witnesses certify that they have examined the application, that all information was completed accurately and fully, and that it is an exact copy of the original application.
5. Statement Of Rights – this part of the form shows what rights are actually being submitted for copyright registration on a specific product or work, as well as who has been given those rights at the time they were registered. The form must be completed completely in order to properly protect any rights that are provided in a filing made to either:
1. Copyright Office
2. Library of Congress
3. The United States Patent and Trademark Office
6. Submission of Exhibitions or Publications – this part of the form is only required if the copyright work being submitted is in a book, a newspaper, or any other kind of publication. It must include an explanation of what is being submitted, as well as where it was released or published to the public at the time it was written.
The application for both patents and copyrights can be completed online via www.ecommerceplaza.com , by visiting https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/MiscForms.htm . This website provides all of the necessary forms for filing, which are known as provisional patent application forms. They can be completed online, and they are submitted through the mail with no additional charge to submit them. The request can be sent through the mail [and] there is no charge for a filing
The US Patent and Trademark Office is located in Washington DC at P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 .
http://p-enofacto.
Conclusion:
Osaya, Emmanual P. (2007). "A Postcolonial Experience of Copyright", in ILEC Review, Vol 26 Issue 2, pp. 65–69.
"U.S. Copyright Office" http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ03-05/03-05a-1p.pdf . Retrieved 7 October 2014 (PDF).
"The United States Patent and Trademark Office". USPTO - USPTO Home Page . Retrieved 19 October 2013 (webarchive).
USPTO's Mission Statement can be found at: http://www.uspto.gov/about/mission_statement_page.