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Intellectual Property, Trademark, And Trade Secrets

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Intellectual Property refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; library and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. It is any product of the human intellect that the law protects from unauthorized use by others. It is comprised of four categories: patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets. Patent gives the inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, importing, and selling the patented innovation for a certain amount of time. A patent can be granted the inventor if they file an application in a timely manner. Most inventors seek a patent to obtain the actual or potential commercial advantages that go along with the right to exclude others. Copyright protection gives the right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, and license things such as music, motion pictures, writings, architecture, and other original intellectual expressions. Trademarks are words, phrases, names, slogans, logos, and symbols used by producers to identify their goods and services. As for trade secrets, to determine whether information creates a trade secret, there are six factors that need to be considered: The extent to which the information is known outside the claimant’s business, the extent to which it is known by employees and other involved in the business, the extent of measures taken by the claimant to guard the secrecy of the information, the value of the information to the business and its competitors, the amount of effort or

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