Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Indiana

Re: copywright and trademark

Registration of the video is easy and you can do it yourself -- just go to the US Copyright Office's Web site and follow the instructions. Do this BEFORE you send copies of your video to anyone in order to preserve valuable rights against infringement. Because the US is now a member of the Berne Convention, your US copyright secures rights in almost all countries.

Trademarks are much more complicated. In order to obtain trademark protection in the US, you need only establish bona fide sales of the product in interstate commerce. Registration is not required, but it does establish your rights nationwide and give other procedural benefits. Best to have a lawyer do this for you -- a number of subtle issues can derail an application. Unlike copyrights, a US trademark secures no rights outwith the US. You have to apply in each foreign country, which gets quite expensive, and unlike the US system's "first use" priority scheme, the rest of the world mainly has a "first to file" priority. You should consult with someone experienced in international trademark protection to devise a strategy appropriate to your goals and budget.

Best wishes,

LDWG