The USA Offers Excellent Protection for Intellectual Property

In our series on the ten most important facts about US market entry, we look at topics where misinformation still circulates, misinformation that can hold non-American companies back from an expansion into the States. We set the record straight and show you how to succeed in the US market.

Intellectual property and copyright in the USA are the subject of frequent debate. Here you will find the details of the legal situation and how it affects foreign companies.

1Your intellectual property in the USA

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the term "intellectual property" refers to inventions, artistic works, designs, and symbols, names and images used in business. In the USA there are several types of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Patents let the owner decide who may make, use or sell an invention. Trademarks identify the origin of a product or service. Copyrights determine who may reproduce, distribute or perform a work. Trade secrets protect confidential information. Each type of protection has its own characteristics and criteria, which is why legal advice matters. An intellectual property attorney can help you protect and enforce your rights in the USA.

To protect your intellectual property rights in the USA against infringement or misappropriation, you have several options:

• You can apply for patent protection in the USA by filing an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Because a patent application comes with specific requirements, it is usually handled by a specialized attorney, who must be licensed in patent law and registered with the USPTO. A patent normally prevents anyone other than the owner from making, selling or importing the patented product for 20 years. That makes it a highly effective form of intellectual property protection.

• There are basically two kinds of trademark rights. One is the common law trademark, based on use in commerce. The other is a trademark registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office, which gives its owner more rights than a simple common law mark. Experienced attorneys in this field can help you decide and can even file the trademark in the States for you.

• While a patent protects the owner's rights to the underlying concepts, copyright covers the way those concepts are expressed in media such as books, music and films. Under a law from 1976, copyright in an original work exists as soon as it is created. To enforce it in a lawsuit, however, you must register it with the US Copyright Office if it is a US work, such as a work first published in the USA; this requirement does not apply to works from abroad.

• As mentioned, trade secrets also count as intellectual property if they are novel and actually kept secret. Probably the most famous example is the Coca-Cola recipe, which has not been disclosed for more than 100 years. To protect a trade secret, you simply need to take appropriate precautions, such as marking the information as "confidential" and restricting access to it. Effective legal remedies exist against the betrayal of trade secrets, some with severe penalties.

All of these forms of intellectual property can also be protected through confidentiality agreements with employees and licensing agreements with customers and other outside parties.

Each of these areas of intellectual property protection is explained in detail on the websites of the US Patent and Trademark Office and the US Copyright Office. An experienced intellectual property attorney can also help answer your specific questions.

2What this means for your intellectual property

Infringements of intellectual property rights can always happen, including during an expansion into the States. But you can reduce that risk considerably with the right protective measures. American courts give the protection of intellectual property high priority, and they have a range of remedies at hand and apply them effectively. To learn more about why the USA is such a compelling place to do business, read our overview of US market entry, the 10 facts about US market entry and our page on legal certainty in the USA.