Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Utah

Re: intelect paper to franchise organization IP protection

The short answer is that mere concepts and ideas are not protectable by patent, trademark or copyright law. However, that is not to say that you can't get some type of protection. For example, a trademark protects the name of the service being provided by guarding against the use of a confusingly similar name by another for a closely related or identical service (assuming, of course, that the name is not merely desriptive or generic for the service). A copyright will protect against others copying written materials, but not against independent creation of a similar written work by another nor will copyright protect against another using the concept or ideas discussed in the materials. Some of the protection against use of the idea could be handled by contract, i.e., make everyone agree that they will not use the ideas discussed in exchange for you revealing the idea or concept to them (sort of a trade secret type of concept). Your franchise system could trigger duties to disclose certain things particularly if people are being asked to invest money with the expectation of earning a return, but if it is non-profit, those duties may be altered a bit. Give me a call if you have further questions. 469-371-3082.

Re: intelect paper to franchise organization IP protection

As you observed, there are lots of issues implicated in your summary. Briefly:

1. Only the expression of your ideas is protected by copyright, to the extent that such expression is original.

2. Trademark rights arise either (1) by actual use in commerce, or (2) by an intent-to-use registration followed by actual use in commerce. It is important to conduct a clearance search before adopting a trademark to ensure that there are no prior users with superior rights to the mark.

3. Avoid the word "franchise" like the plague until you consult with a lawyer. True franchises are the subject of extensive state laws and regulations, and you don't want to get involved with them unless you truly have a franchise.

4. Rather unlikely that you would have something that could be protected by a business-method patent, and the expense of prosecuting one is unlikely to yield a positive return on investment.

Best wishes,

LDWG

Re: intelect paper to franchise organization IP protection

You can trademark the name, and copyright the text, however that does not protect the idea. The only way to protect the idea is to limit the publication - such as by only presenting the idea to people who have signed non-disclosure agreements.

Re: intelect paper to franchise organization IP protection

Follow Att. Graves advice and steer clear of franchise language.

If you have come up with a unique way to solve a problem or an ingenious approach, you may want to incorporate it into a "consulting package" and keep the specific implementations a trade secret via non-disclosure and contract. Much of what passes for professionalism in accounting, legal, medical, etc. is the judicious use of creative concepts and skills applied to a particular situation. You need to think through a business plan while consulting with a good business/ip attorney who can structure what you have come up with in ways that will be: 1)salable, 2)protectible to the extent possible, using a variety of tools to build some barriers to prevent others from appropriating your work wholesale, and 3) adding value to the concept by branding (trademarks important here) and select disclosure, emphasing results and benefits and portecting the internal processes of implementation.Good luck.

PS one other word. The particular application, if it can be integrated with a computer program, or if technical implementations can be transferred to software for speed, additional functionality, etc., then a patent may be considered. The decision to keep trade secret vs. patent is always an issue to be decided on the merits of each invention.