Service Price   Copyrights $75* State Trademark Registration $150* Federal Trademark Registration $135*

*does not include filing fees

A corporate name alone does not protect or guarantee you the use of that business name. Additional protection is legally necessary. A trademark or service mark can provide that additional protection.

In setting your business up, you typically choose a business name and file it with the state. A corporate name alone does not provide the necessary protection or permission needed to market your goods and services. The most comprehensive protection comes with the filing of a trademark (service mark).

For your creative literary or artistic works, there is only one way to protect yourself, and that is through a copyright. While the law may provide certain basic protections, regardless of whether or not a person files for protection, there is only one way to achieve complete protection:

A copyright must be properly registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before it can legally be enforced.

Timing is also important. You can register a copyright at any time, but doing a "timely registration" solves a number of potential problems. Filing a timely registration must be done within three months of your work initially being published or before any copyright infringement actually begins. Filing in this timeframe helps avoid possible complications in starting a lawsuit against the person copying your work. Among other benefits, timely registration allows you (the copyright owner) to recover up to $#36;150,000 (plus lawyer fees) without having to prove actual harm.

Trademark

Copyright

Trademarks and service marks protect the name used in providing a service or in marketing goods.

It could be the name of your company, like GENERAL MOTORS, it could be your logo, or it could be a slogan, such as, "It's the real thing."

A copyright is used to protect your creative work from unauthorized use.

Copyright may apply to a wide range of creative, intellectual or artistic forms or "works," such as artwork, songs, poems, speeches or articles.