The Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks: What You Need to Know Explained Simply [Paperback]

Matthew Cole (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Hundreds of thousands of people apply for patents, copyrights, and trademarks in the United States every year. For example, the United States Patent and Trademark office reports that 452,633 patent applications were filed in 2006. You can easily become one of these people if you have created the greatest American invention, if you are the next Stephen King and have written a book to prove it, or if you have designed an eye-catching logo for your company. The Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks will provide you with all the information you need to know about acquiring, registering, maintaining, and protecting your intellectual property. A patent is a grant of property rights to the inventor and essentially excludes others from making, using, and selling your invention, whereas a trademark is a word, symbol, or device used to indicate the source of goods and to distinguish your goods from those of others. A copyright, on the other hand, protects original works and the form of the expression rather than the subject matter. This new, exhaustively researched book will help you decide which of the three you need to apply for, as well as which things can be patented, trademarked, and copyrighted and which cannot. In this book, you will learn how to file an application, how to register, how to avoid infringement, and how to avoid common problems. Additionally, you will become knowledgeable about where to file; the fees involved; laws and regulations associated with the process; the differences between copyrights, trademarks, and patents; the differences between utility, design, and plant patents; who may apply; attorneys and agents; and the forms you need to fill out. Whether you are applying for a patent, copyright, or trademark, this book will provide you with all the necessary information necessary to do so. The Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks is the only book you need to read if you want to protect your intellectual property.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Company (FL) (September 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601382316
• ISBN-13: 978-1601382313
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #391,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks, August 25, 2009

By	Barb McMahon - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks: What You Need to Know Explained Simply (Kindle Edition)

The prospect of having to read a book about Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents is enough to make your heart sink. Fortunately, Matthew L. Cole is a novelist and poet, with a smooth command of the language. He has taken a mind-boggling array of U.S. and international intellectual property law and history and put together an intelligent and readable book.

This book is a good source of information for writers, musicians, inventors, business owners - anyone with a creative property to protect. At 290 pages, it is exhaustively thorough. Each section contains a comprehensive glossary of terms, a history of the law and discussion of what those laws mean in real life.

Then, just when you think your head might explode from all the new information, there's an interesting fact about trademark, copyright or patents, suitable for trotting out at your next dinner party.

If you have intellectual property that you need to protect, this is the book for you.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Guide to Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents, August 13, 2009

By	Sharon (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks: What You Need to Know Explained Simply (Paperback)

This book covers everything from A to Z on copyrights, trademarks, and patents. It is very detailed with clear definitions and explanations on how and why you need to copyright/protect your art, whether it's writing, music, dance, or any artistic expression. There is a fascinating history of how copyright laws came into existence and why they are needed.

Matthew L. Cole has written a very handy guide. This book is an excellent resource for writers, artists, business people, and inventors. It provides clear guidelines on how to secure copyrights, trademarks, and patents. It details the nuts and bolts of why you need to protect your intellectual property and how to go about doing it.

Every inventor in America needs to read the sections on Patents. There is a clear plan, step-by-step detailing why a patent is needed, the way to secure a patent, what to watch out for, and how to make the process as easy as possible. Examples of finished forms clearly demonstrate how to complete them properly. Cole couldn't have made it any easier to file patent paperwork!

The Complete Guide to Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents should be on everyone's resource bookshelf

4.0 out of 5 stars No Way You Will Shelf This Book!, May 7, 2009

By	Jennifer A. Sheffield (Suffern, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks: What You Need to Know Explained Simply (Kindle Edition)

If you have published an idea in print, are the creator of a unique machine, shape or sound, or, as a savvy business owner, you have identified a need to differentiate a particular product from the larger market, then author and novelist, Matthew L. Cole is sure that you have questions about protecting it; or, at least, strongly suggests that you should. Cole's "Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks" creatively pulls apart the characteristics of these three title concepts, provides a date-specific historical timeline of their conception and current application, plus, helps readers set up a succinct personal plan for properly using intellectual property laws to their full extent and to the advantage of you: the applicant.

This book not only serves as a great tutorial, but makes what could be a monstrous, or just plain boring read, extremely simple and engaging. Copyright office contact information and instructions on how to fill out an application form are built into Cole's exploration of the ways in which each law covers text, music, logos and internet data. He doesn't just talk about individual copyright ownership, either, but also collaborations and transfers of rights, plus, fair use by others in both the public arena and academic environment. In the center section of this book, you will find definitions of terms such as "types of marks" as you transition into the topic of Trademarks. In this section, Cole goes into detail about domain names and touches on international systems. He also provides guidance on how to perform a search to avoid trademark conflicts and links to sites where you can research your own state laws. Lastly, patents take up the least number of pages, but this book continues on an informative track. Cole's discussion includes a five page Case Study on Internet music technology and further interests you with specifics about "products of nature" versus man-made discoveries. Utility, Plant and Design Patent Application Transmittal forms and an appendix of an actual U.S. filing for a drumhead tensioning device and method round out this attractive read.

There is no way you will shelf this book forever. In addition to being a good reference, each chapter is divided by photographs, and fun trivia facts that relate to what the reader just learned. Cole doesn't let you escape any section before alerting you to paying attention to things such as the duration of protection and infringement. Free-of-charge electronic databases are offered for further reading, if you're interested. A good way to get interested is by reading this book. Cole successfully tells you what can be protected, but also, discusses what can not be, giving readers a generous perspective on, and un-complicating an entire process. I give "The Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks" a 4 out of 5 star rating.