If you have an invention you’re launching, looking into patent clearance and protection isn’t enough. While a patent FTO search focuses on identifying patents your invention may be infringing, a comprehensive launch strategy for your invention also requires a full-spectrum IP checkup, including trademarks and copyrights.
A trademark clearance search is similar to the FTO search in that it looks for existing trademarks your business, brand, or product name or logo, or other trademarks such as scents and package design, are possibly infringing on someone else’s trademark, whether registered or unregistered. Like an FTO search it provides an opportunity for adjustment to avoid infringement.
Copyright clearance involves making sure your related creative works, such as instruction manuals, packaging art, marketing art, marketing music, and website copy, aren’t infringing on others’ copyright rights. For example, do you have the proper rights to the photos on your website?
The lesson here is, don’t clear and protect your invention on the patent front only to get sued over what you named it or how you marketed it.
Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you’re a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand and business, you need to know how to use it. You don’t have to face the darkness alone, though.
I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I’m an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, but I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.
If you’d like to consult with me, please book a consultation online at kingpatentlaw.com or by calling my office at 312-596-2222 or 217-714-8558.
Please check out the other posts and pages on my website for more information on intellectual property and business law issues. I’m also on most major podcast platforms as “Know Your Rights: Your Intellectual Property and Business Law Playbook” (video on YouTube, Spotify, and Substack only) and on most social media as @kingpatentlaw.
