Intellectual Property
The four ways to protect what you create, and why the first one most brands need costs about $350.
Intellectual property is everything a business owns that nobody can hold in their hands: the name, the logo, the writing, the photography, the product design, the formula, the code. It comes in four kinds of protection, trademark, copyright, patent, and trade secret, and each one guards a different thing. Most founders need only one or two of them to start, and the first, a trademark on the brand name, costs about $350.
The Four Types
Each type covers a different asset and is obtained a different way. One is automatic, one is a $350 form, and one can run into tens of thousands of dollars.
| Type | What it protects | How you get it |
|---|---|---|
| Trademark | Brand name, logo, slogan | Register with the USPTO, about $350 |
| Copyright | Creative work: writing, photos, video, design | Automatic the moment it is created |
| Patent | A new invention or mechanism | File with the USPTO, slow and costly |
| Trade secret | A confidential formula or process | Keep it secret, nothing to file |
Which One You Actually Need
For most brands, the trademark comes first. It is the one protection a founder has to actively claim, and the brand name is usually the most valuable thing she owns. Copyright already covers her website copy, product photos, and content the moment she makes them, so registration only matters if she expects to sue over it.
Patents are the exception. They protect inventions, so they earn their cost only when the product itself is the new idea, not when it is a familiar product with better branding. A formula, like a skincare blend or a fragrance, is often better kept as a trade secret, since a patent would put the recipe on the public record and protect it for only twenty years. When she shares any of this with a manufacturer or a freelancer, an NDA keeps it confidential.
Real Example
Sara Blakely built Spanx on a product that was actually new, footless body-shaping hosiery, which is exactly the case where a patent is worth the trouble. She started the company with $5,000 in savings and, quoted thousands of dollars in legal fees, wrote the patent application herself from a textbook, hiring an attorney only to finish the claims. That patent, plus the trademark on the Spanx name, became the foundation of a business she later sold into at a $1.2 billion valuation.
Go Deeper
- Trademark: How to protect your brand name and logo, and why the $350 USPTO filing is the cheapest insurance a brand builder buys.
- Copyright: The protection that kicks in the moment you create something, for free, and what it does and does not cover.
- Patent: What a patent actually protects, when a product founder needs one, and what it costs.
- Trade Secret: How to protect a formula or process with no filing and no expiration date.
- NDA: When a non-disclosure agreement is worth signing before you share an idea, and when it is not.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the four types of intellectual property?
Trademark, copyright, patent, and trade secret. A trademark protects a brand name or logo, copyright protects creative work like writing and photos, a patent protects a new invention, and a trade secret protects a confidential formula or process. Most businesses use the first two and rarely need the others.
Which intellectual property protection do I need first?
A trademark on the business name, in almost every case. It is the only one a founder has to claim before someone else does, and registering it with the USPTO costs about $350. Copyright on her content is already automatic, so the name is where attention and money go first.
Do I need a lawyer to protect my intellectual property?
Not always. Copyright is automatic and free, and a straightforward trademark can be filed directly through the USPTO without one. A patent is where a lawyer usually pays for itself, because the claims are technical and a weak application protects nothing.
What is the difference between a trademark and a copyright?
A trademark protects what identifies a brand in the market, the name, logo, and slogan, and lasts as long as the brand is in use. Copyright protects a specific creative work the moment it is made, and lasts the life of the author plus 70 years. A logo can be covered by both at once.
Sources
- USPTO, “Trademark Fee Information,” 2024. Current trademark application filing fees.
- Forbes, “Undercover Billionaire: Sara Blakely,” 2012. Spanx founding, the $5,000 in savings, and the self-written patent.