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Copyright / Patent Protection - Protecting An Idea
Boston, MA
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Posted 12 months ago in Intellectual Property
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I am currently working on a new business project that uses the graphic/intellectual property of other companies, such as logos and color schemes, and creating a product with them. It is not a matter of a taking a logo or image and parodying it; I would use the graphics in connection with my own design layouts. Unfortunately I do not want to divulge too much information since it is a unique idea that is yet to be discovered. That said I would like to protect myself from having someone steal the idea before I build a business off of it.
Am I able to copyright or patent my design/idea so no one else can create it? As mentioned before, I would license the intellectual property of other companies to use with my designs to create a product. I do have a prototype that I can submit and I also know someone who has a technology I can use to customize my product quickly and efficiently. Sorry for being vague; I appreciate your help.
Additional information
Let me take a second to reword what I am asking. I understand I cannot "patent an idea". What I am trying to do is protect a template/artwork I have created that will be used to customize artwork to fulfill a consumer’s needs and requests. I am not trying to patent the way I create the artwork, but the actual design itself. I do have the original piece of artwork I could copyright, but does that mean I will need to copyright each piece of artwork I create afterwards? Can I copyright a template that will protect all pieces of work created from the template? Or is this a situation where I should patent the design or template that will protect all pieces of artwork created for consumers? Answers (3)
Oscar Michelen
This attorney is licensed in New York.
Posted 12 months ago.
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It is very difficult to answer such a general question in a format such as this, but generally speaking, you cannot copyright, trademark or patent "an idea." You can only register a particularly unique way of making that idea come to life in some fashion. The technology you are referring to may be patentable of course.
I will suggest to you what I suggest to many who come to Avvo. This is a great forum to get a quick answer to a specific question but before you begin a business enterprise dealing with the intellectual property of others you should budget for a few hours of legal advice from a qualified professional in your area.. 
Daniel Nathan Ballard
This attorney is licensed in California.
Posted 12 months ago.
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As usual, Oscar is right. Even with your clarification no "answer" can be provided based on the information that you have chosen to share.
One very general thought: If Company A owns a piece of intellectual property (such as a logo used as a trademark, a color scheme used as trade dress, or an image that is copyrightable) then Company B cannot exploit that property for commercial gain. Exceptions exist, of course, but w/o more information from you we cannot discuss those exceptions. It sounds to me like you intend to transform certain intellectual property owned by others into some other form and then sell the resulting product. If that's the case, then you need to visit with a very competent intellectual property attorney, disclose your plans, and let him or her spend some time figuring out a legal way (if there is one) for you to engage in that business. 
Gerry J. Elman
This attorney is licensed in New York and 1 other state.
Posted 11 months ago.
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Sounds to me like you're seeking to develop an intellectual property strategy that would tie in with your business model. You're asking the right sort of questions, as to which of the tools of intellectual property would be applicable. You could be considering copyright as well as trademark and trade dress protection and maybe even design patents. As the previous respondents have wisely said, this is the sort of thing that can be done in the confidential attorney-client relationship rather than on an open forum such as this one.
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