Legal Question in Business Law in New York

Re: patent

You can copyright your drawings of the line. I don't see you getting a patent on it. Also use a NDA when you deal with them before you show them the line.

Re: patent

You can't patent a concept or even a piece of jewelry. What you can do is both copyright the design and obtain trademark protection for the piece once it's in use in interstate commerce.

My recommendation would be that you require the manufacturer to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement prior to sharing the design with them, and then quickly sell a piece in interstate commerce. Thereafter you can obtain a trademark on the design and/or logos associated with the sale.

If you'd like to discuss the question of intellectual property protection, please feel free to get in touch. I handle trademark registrations on a flat fee basis.

Re: patent

Both your prior answers are correct, and both are also not correct.

It is true that you cannot patent an idea. Only embodiments of ideas can be patented.

It is NOT true that you cannot patent a design; a design patent is meant to cover nonfunctional ornamental design for functional objects, so if your jewelry has a function other than looking good, its design may indeed be patentable.

Design is indeed protected through copyright; which form of protection to register under (assuming your design is patentable) is an either/or choice that you and your lawyer must make.

See http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/complaints.htm .

While you're at the USPatent & Trademark Office's website, poke around some; it's full of really good info.

Contact me if I can be of further help.

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